Cairo, 28 October 2020 – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre (KSRelief) announced a contribution of US$ 1.6 million today to support the efforts of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, in providing emergency gender-based violence services to the most vulnerable women and girls in Yemen.

Women and girls continue to face entrenched gender inequalities in Yemen. Three quarters of those displaced are women and children. Displaced women and girls face an increased risk of gender-based violence as the breakdown of protection systems make them increasingly vulnerable to violence and abuse.

“In times of crisis we often overlook the unique needs of women and girls. Ensuring that women and girls are safe and have the services they require to protect themselves from violence and abuse when fleeing conflict or seeking humanitarian assistance is imperative to any humanitarian response,” said Luay Shabaneh, Regional Director of Arab States, UNFPA. “We thank the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre for this contribution, which will help UNFPA to provide essential gender-based violence services to women and girls in Yemen.”

The funding will allow UNFPA to improve gender-based violence services in areas where protection needs of women and girls have grown, directly benefiting nearly 30,000 of the most vulnerable women and girls across nine governorates. This includes improving psychosocial support services, legal aid and livelihood opportunities for survivors of gender-based violence, through support to eight safe spaces and two safe shelters.

The partnership between KSRelief and UNFPA in Yemen since 2015 is helping to reach hundreds of thousands of women and girls with reproductive health and protection information and services.

UNFPA leads the coordination and provision of gender-based violence services across the country. UNFPA is also the sole provider of life-saving reproductive health medicines in Yemen. To keep reaching the most vulnerable women and girls, UNFPA requires US$100.5 million in 2020. To date, only 63 per cent of funding has been received.

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UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

For more information, please contact:

In Cairo: Samir Aldarabi, Regional Media Adviser for the United Nations Population Fund for the Arab States Region,  +201068484879, aldarabi@unfpa.org

In Sana’a: Lankani Sikurajapathy, Communication Specialist, Tel.+94773411614, sikurajapathy@unfpa.org             

Fahmia Al-Fotih, Communication Analyst Tel: +967 712224016; al-fotih@unfpa.org