DESK REVIEW – YEMEN
August 2015
Summary
This desk review is a compilation of existing secondary data, using the Minimum Standards for Child Protection as an analysis framework. All data points are citations from secondary data publicly available online, which have been compared and interpreted, but not triangulated and verified. The desk review is a product of the Child Protection Working Group (CPWG), the global level forum for coordination and collaboration on child protection in humanitarian settings.
The desk review includes data from before and during the most recent intensification of the conflict since March 2015:
Part 1 gives some background information on the country and child protection issues. This introductory part will remain relevant over the next years to come.
Part 2 gives an overview on the current emergency and highlights elements with regards to affected children.
Part 3 outlines how the emergency affects child protection needs, the number of children affected, the response to date as well as coverage and gaps.
As the crisis is evolving very fast, this part will have to be updated monthly to remain relevant.
Table of Contents
1.Background 1
Child Protection 2
Legal Framework 3
Social and cultural norms related to child wellbeing and development 4
Child Protection Needs 4
2.Emergency Profile 8
Crisis overview 8
Main drivers of the crisis 9
Number of people affected 9
Geographical extent of affected areas 9
Main characteristics of affected population 9
Coordination Mechanisms 10
Existing capacities 10
Affected Children 10
Access to services and goods 10
Excluded groups 11
3.Child Protection needs as exacerbated by the crisis 11
Dangers and Injuries 12
Overview/Issue 12
Number of children affected 12
Capacities 12
Response to date 13
Gaps 13
Physical violence and other harmful practices 13
Overview/Issue 13
Number of children affected 13
Capacities 13
Response to date 13
Gaps 13
Sexual Violence 13
Overview/Issue 13
Number of children affected 14
Capacities 14
Response to date 14
Gaps 14
Psychosocial distress and mental disorders 14
Overview/Issue 14
Number of children affected 14
Capacities 14
Response to date 14
Gaps/priorities identified by key informants 14
Children associated with armed forces and groups 15
Overview/Issue 15
Number of children affected 15
Capacities 16
Response to date 16
Gaps 16
Child Labor 16
Overview/Issue 16
Number of children affected 16
Capacities 16
Response to date 16
Gaps 16
Unaccompanied and separated children 16
Overview/Issue 16
Number of children affected 16
Capacities 17
Response to date 17
Gaps 17
Justice for children 17
Overview/Issue 17
Number of children affected 17
Capacities 17
Response to date 17
Gaps 17
Annex I: Abbreviations 18
Annex II: Timeline 19
1.Background
Yemen’s geographic and demographic frameworks are shaping its human environment. Its location between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula has always made it a key transit point for many people seeking refuge from the humanitarian crises – drought, famine and conflict – and for economic migrants in search of a better life and economic opportunities in neighboring Gulf countries. The unification in 1990 of the former Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen), which had contrasting economic and political systems, has shaped the volatility of Yemen’s emerging national identity.
Yemen’s economy remains very fragile and vulnerable, especially to external shocks. Its dependency upon oil reserves is very problematic as these reserves approach exhaustion, and reliance on foreign remittances is subject to geopolitical factors outside Yemen’s control. Water scarcity is critical and its preferential use for qat (a plant chewed as a mild stimulant) production is untenable; it is also counterproductive to children’s livelihoods, is adverse to domestic food reliance and increases food insecurity. External assistance is weak, unpredictable and politicized. Per capita income rates are very low and household poverty is very high, across both urban and rural populations.1
Country Profile Statistics
|
Capital
|
Sana’a
|
Population
(World Bank, 2014)
|
24.97 million
|
Population under 18
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
11,586,760
|
Population under 5
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
3,445,940
|
GDP per capita (current $)
(World Bank, 2013)
|
1,473
|
HDI Index & Ranking
(2014)
|
154
|
GNI per capita (current $)
(World Bank, 2013)
|
1,370
|
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)
(World Bank, 2005)
|
34.8%
|
Total fertility rate
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
4.08
|
Life expectancy at birth
(World Bank, 2013)
|
63 years
|
Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
51
|
Under 5 mortality rank
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
50
|
Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
40
|
HIV/AIDS prevalence among young people
(UNICEF, 2013)
|
<0.1%
|
Use of improved drinking water (total) (% of population with access)
(UNICEF, 2012)
|
55
|
Use of improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)
(UNICEF, 2012)
|
53
|
Primary school net enrollment (UNICEF, 2013)
|
87%
|
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