Mid-Year Review of the Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen 2012

3.2 CLUSTER RESPONSE UPDATES

3.2.1 EARLY RECOVERY

Summary of updated cluster response plan

Cluster lead agency	UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Cluster member organizations	ACTED, ADRA, DRC, IOM, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, UNFPA, WFP.
Number of projects	23
Cluster objectives	Facilitate access to emergency livelihoods for the crisis-affected population. Mitigate consequences of crisis and reduce vulnerability via strengthening community organization and resilience, through accelerated stabilization programming and support. Strengthen disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness measures, and immediate crisis response and early warning systems (EWS), including building capacity of NGOs to deliver early recovery assistance. Establish an information, advocacy, coordination, and support platform for early recovery programming and implementation Consolidate data on Early Recovery to develop evidence- based response and analysis. Undertake survival and recovery programming, which includes responding to the recovery needs of affected population, including infrastructure rehabilitation, support economic viability, and strengthening resilience to shocks
Funds required	Original: $26,165,188 Revised at mid-year: $48,564,387
Funds required per priority level	Life Saving: $10,885,434 Support Services: $7,281,412 Time Critical: $30,397,541
Funding to date	$5,274,202 (11% of revised requirements)
Contact information	N/A

Categories and disaggregated numbers of affected population and beneficiaries

Category of people in need	Number of people in need	Number of targeted beneficiaries	Number of people covered
	Total	Total	Total
North	1,569,795	1,569,795	22,226
South	1,821,105	1,821,105	22,209
Central/West	1,073,795	1,073,795	22,066
Totals	4,464,695	4,464,695	66,501

The very sharp increase in the cost of living and the rise of unemployment have severely limited access for populations at risk (IDPs, returnees, youth) and poor populations to basic services (health, education, nutrition etc.) as they cannot afford the fees anymore. Also, basic services infrastructure has been damaged due to recent events. Therefore, massive livelihoods support is needed, to allow populations at risk to get the necessary income to restore their access to basic social services, as well as emergency rehabilitation of community infrastructure for service delivery. Most projects presented in the YHRP are dealing with these emergency livelihoods, and it is hoped that this MYR will help reverse the severe underfunding situation faced by most of these projects. Funding early recovery will not only prevent a worsening of the humanitarian situation, but it will also help to reduce emergencies and stabilize the overall fragile situation in the country.

In the south, recent developments may create new opportunities for the return of IDPs to their homes in Abyan. However, developments are still at a very early stage and returns might only be considered on a voluntary basis and if other basic conditions, primarily security, are satisfied. In the north, the conditions for return also appear durable in some areas, even if IDPs still appear reluctant or hesitant to move back. Early recovery projects will have to be quickly developed and implemented in the second half of 2012 to accompany these processes of return, especially in the south. Return packages should include a strong component of livelihoods support and local economic recovery initiatives in areas of return should be encouraged as well as reconstruction of community infrastructure for service delivery.

Landmines and UXO remain a threat to civilians, particularly to existing and potential returnees in the north and south of the country. Technical identification surveys, mine clearance operations, MRE for communities and children in school (for which the CPSC is in charge), and multi-sector support to mine victims will continue on in emergency mode, as they often are preconditions for many other humanitarian and early recovery activities.

As the country moves further into early recovery, concern is raised as to the very limited absorption capacity of local civil society to implement humanitarian and recovery programmes. As a result of a multiplication of security risks faced by international staff, humanitarian players are increasingly moving away from direct implementation to resort to projects implementation through local NGOs (“remote management” schemes). There is therefore a major need to develop civil society from spontaneous community groups and community-based organizations (CBOs) into reliable, professional and sustainable partners. At the same time, this will satisfy the need to improve the socio-political engagement of civil society in Yemen. After extended needs assessments, it appears that the first priority in building civil society is to develop an intermediate level of sustainable NGOs with strategic capacities at the governorate level. The governorates could play the role of intermediaries at field level between donors and grassroots organizations. UN agencies have agreed in principle to move ahead on a single and joint project to rebuild core management capacities of these NGOs and the project might also be opened to other partners.

Similarly, there is a need to build capacities of local authorities at the Governorate level. At a time when the humanitarian response will gradually be shaped through regional and governorate plans, support should be provided to local Governorate authorities to increase their ownership of these plans and their coordination and planning capacities.

Finally, efforts aimed at crisis prevention, reconciliation and social cohesion should be increased in an effort to bring back together communities that have been very divided by recent events and years of tensions. Social cohesion projects would link conflict prevention and mediation with local development in an effort to combine reconciliation and poverty reduction. A crisis prevention early warning mechanism will also be organized, with inputs from several partners, in order to better and sooner detect indications of tensions.

The Early Recovery Cluster will be revitalized and strengthened in the second half of 2012 with new capacity and new staff and the cluster’s strategy reviewed.
Table of mid-year monitoring vs. objectives

Outcomes with corresponding targets	Outputs with corresponding targets	Indicators with corresponding targets and baseline	Achieved as mid-year
Cluster objective 1: Facilitate access to emergency livelihoods for the crisis-affected population.
Capacities of local communities enhanced to promote self-reliance and early recovery. Livelihoods of affected population restored.	IDPs receive support for sustainable livelihoods. Skill training rehabilitation for targeted IDPs through vocational training. Access to sustainable livelihoods either employment or self-employment. Improve cohesion between IDPs and host communities. Early recovery needs assessment and information support.	Number of IDPs assisted through agriculture/ livelihood projects with an early recovery component.	143 IDPs trained 53 IDPs have access to internships in local businesses. 25 trained on personal productivity skills (communication, decision-making, advocacy). Rapid early recovery needs assessment takes place, results of assessment disseminated. 75 (46 male and 29 female) heads of households were trained and a total of 85 (63 male and 22 female) heads of households received in-kind support in Sana'a city.
Cluster objective 2: Mitigate consequences of crisis and reduce vulnerability via strengthening community organization and resilience, through accelerated stabilization programming and support.
Access to basic services improved among affected population.
Cluster objective 3: Strengthen disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness measures, and immediate crisis response and early warning systems (EWS), including building capacity of NGOs to deliver early recovery assistance.
Security of local communities and lives of affected population and returnees protected from exposure to landmines/UXO.	Mine-polluted areas surveyed, marked and cleared. Improved capacities of local NGOs & local government to lead and manage recovery process.	% of mine-polluted areas surveyed, marked and cleared.	Four MRE campaigns and victim assistance. The total area cleared during the period was 66,985m²: 59,250 by mine detection dogs and 7,735 by landmine/UXO survey teams. Monitoring and quality control.
Cluster objective 4: Establish an information, advocacy, coordination, and support platform for early recovery programming and implementation.
			No activity to report
Cluster objective 5: Consolidate data on Early Recovery to develop evidence- based response and analysis.
			No activity to report
Cluster objective 6: Undertake survival and recovery programming, which includes responding to the recovery needs of affected population, including infrastructure rehabilitation, support economic viability, and strengthening resilience to shocks.
			No activity to report