Ma’rib – New displacements continue in Ma’rib as clashes persist. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that since February 2021 when hostilities began surging once again, nearly 2,700 families have been displaced, many of them for the 2nd or 3rd time. In March, through an IOM-KSrelief project, almost 2,400 displaced people were supported with emergency shelter kits and essential relief items.

Local authorities and humanitarian partners—already grappling with limited resources while responding to the needs of some 1 million IDPs across the governorate—are now struggling even more to meet growing humanitarian needs. Those affected by the crisis in Ma’rib are among the most vulnerable groups in Yemen, repeatedly losing access to basic services and livelihoods.

Shelter is a major concern for newly displaced people and those being repeatedly displaced. Through various projects, IOM supports displaced people’s shelter needs, both in emergency and protracted situations. In this particular IOM-KSrelief project, IOM distributed over 440 emergency shelter kits, 2,160 mattresses, 2,160 blankets and 540 kitchen sets to the displaced in Ma’rib city and Ma’rib Al Wadi districts.

“Without proper shelter, displaced people are exposed to the elements which can be detrimental for their health, while also posing serious safety concerns,” said Naima Tahir, Shelter and Non-Food Item (S-NFI) Programme Officer in Ma’rib.

“These shelter and relief items distributions are essential to helping vulnerable families survive displacement, particularly those who are being displaced repeatedly and have limited resources,” Naima added.

Additionally, IOM is carrying out assessments under the same project to support the rehabilitation of emergency and transitional shelters for around 1,145 displaced families. Rehabilitation activities will involve providing plastic sheets, insulation, and shelter upgrade and maintenance kits to families living in displacement sites.

This is an important activity since the majority of displaced families in Ma’rib are living in informal settlements, characterized by dire shelter conditions with damaged, limited or no shelters available. When shelters are present, they are typically considered “makeshift”, as they are constructed using a mix of materials or are emergency shelters, made of plastic sheeting with wooden frames and no doors or windows. In general, shelters in Ma’rib are inadequate; prone to wear and damage, and susceptible to rain, wind and extreme temperatures.

In total, nearly 150,000 people have been displaced since the start of the escalation on the Ma’rib front in January 2020. IOM teams are the ground to support the newly displaced not only through shelter distributions and rehabilitation but through the provision of health care, water, sanitation and hygiene services, protection support, and camp coordination and camp management. Through all its shelter projects, IOM has reached more than 15,000 people in need with S-NFI support since the start of this year alone.

For more information, please contact IOM Yemen:

Arabic: Mennatallah Homaid, Tel: +967739888755, Email: mhomaid@iom.int 

English: Olivia Headon, Tel: +251926379755, WhatsApp: +967730552233, Email: oheadon@iom.int