Sana’a, 29 August 2018 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund welcomed the generous contribution of $1.75 million from the State of Kuwait to assist the most vulnerable women and girls affected by the conflict in Yemen. This contribution will allow UNFPA to provide urgent life-saving reproductive health and protection services to women and girls in the most vulnerable districts of Aden, Hodeidah and Taizz Governorates.

 “We are extremely grateful for the contribution from the State of Kuwait, which will help us to scale up our humanitarian assistance to ensure women and girls who are either displaced or affected by conflict have access to reproductive health and protection services they need and the basic supplies to maintain their hygiene and dignity”, stated Anjali Sen, UNFPA’s Representative to Yemen.

UNFPA estimates that there are nearly 3 million women of childbearing age among 11.2 million people in acute need, of whom some 450,000 are likely to be pregnant and deliver within the year. The disruption of basic services and protection mechanisms has also meant an increase in women’s vulnerability to violence and abuse with an increase in women seeking gender-based violence services by 36 percent in 2017.

The contribution from the State of Kuwait will help UNFPA sustain and increase current life-saving services by providing reproductive health kits and emergency obstetric care in health facilities, emergency protection services, which includes counselling, psychosocial support  and referrals to safe spaces and  shelters in severely conflict-affected districts across Aden, Hodeidah and Taizz. In 2017 UNFPA reached more than 2.5 million people with life-saving reproductive health and protection services.

UNFPA through the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan is appealing for $44.5 million towards reproductive health and gender-based violence services for women and girls affected by the ongoing crisis. To-date only $20 million has been mobilised.

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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

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

Lankani Sikurajapathy: Tel. +94773411614; sikurajapathy@unfpa.org