Sanaa IDPs Face Hunger After Houthis Seize Aid

A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Sanaa IDPs Face Hunger After Houthis Seize Aid

A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Sabri Moneef, an internally displaced Yemeni who left Hodeidah for Sanaa, voiced his deep concerns and fears towards relief agencies halving their aid as per their announcement last April.

Moneef says he dreads that his family, which is very dependent on food aid, will be cut off completely and left to starve.

As a father of eight children, Moneef complains that he is being denied his share of food baskets distributed by the UN after aid having come to a halt. Houthis in Sanaa claim that it was the UN that stopped the aid.

Moneef, 43, says the last time his family received any aid was in Ramadan. Even then the food basket they received was missing cooking oil and sugar. The impoverished refugee in Sanaa claims that Houthis had plundered the missing items given that they were in charge of aid distribution in the coup-held capital.

He also talks about hundreds of IDPs in Sanaa who have not received their food aid for over four months, as they face several Houthi obstacles that prevent them from obtaining aid allocated for them.

According to local statistics, there are more than 60,000 Yemeni families who have been displaced during the past years to Sanaa due to the Houthi-waged war.

The livelihood of these families mainly depends on the international relief aid provided to them.

A number of international donors, including the US, have cut aid to Yemenis as a result of their suspicions that their previous contributions were being seized and diverted to militia-controlled areas, instead of being distributed to the needy.

Relief officials said that they had faced many delays in the past in obtaining the necessary approvals and statements by the Houthi militias to deliver aid. They also added that their employees are exposed to abuse and detention by the group's militants.



KSrelief Launches Project to Protect Women Affected by Gender-Based Violence in Yemen

The project will directly benefit 18,000 displaced women and violence survivors, as well as 325 frontline workers in safe spaces and protection centers - SPA
The project will directly benefit 18,000 displaced women and violence survivors, as well as 325 frontline workers in safe spaces and protection centers - SPA
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KSrelief Launches Project to Protect Women Affected by Gender-Based Violence in Yemen

The project will directly benefit 18,000 displaced women and violence survivors, as well as 325 frontline workers in safe spaces and protection centers - SPA
The project will directly benefit 18,000 displaced women and violence survivors, as well as 325 frontline workers in safe spaces and protection centers - SPA

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) launched a project to protect and empower women affected by gender-based violence in the Aden and Taiz governorates of Yemen.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
According to SPA, over 12 months, the project will directly benefit 18,000 displaced women and violence survivors, as well as 325 frontline workers in safe spaces and protection centers. It seeks an indirect impact on around 126,000 individuals.
The project aims to improve the protection of women and girls, build the skills of workers in managing violence cases, expand psychosocial and legal support services, and raise community awareness through women's rights education campaigns.
UN Women Yemen representative Dina Zorba thanked Saudi Arabia, through KSrelief, for its generous support and humanitarian vision prioritizing women's empowerment. She emphasized that the project goes beyond protection services, representing an integrated approach to restoring dignity, enhancing resilience, and empowering women as active partners in peacebuilding and recovery.
The initiative is part of Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts, through KSrelief, to empower women in Yemen and strengthen their positive role in society.