New funding from the United States of America offers health and protection support for women and girls in Yemen

SANA’A, Yemen – The United States of America, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is contributing $23.4 million to UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency in Yemen. The funding will support the provision of emergency relief and life-saving reproductive health and protection services to 1.3 million of the most vulnerable women and girls.

Eight years of grinding conflict have devastated the health system and left an estimated 7.1 million women in need of urgent access to protection services. More than 5 million women and girls of childbearing age have limited or no access to reproductive health services, among them 1.5 million pregnant women who are acutely malnourished.

The new contribution from USAID, as part of a longstanding partnership with UNFPA, will allow for the uninterrupted provision of life-saving services, at a time when UNFPA’s humanitarian response in the country is being hampered by limited resources. As humanitarian needs continue to grow in Yemen, women and girls are facing challenges in accessing services that are vital to their health, well-being and survival.

In 2023, an estimated 7 million people require mental health treatment and support, but only 120,000 have access to these services, in a country where there is only one psychiatrist per 700,000 people. (The global ratio is about 34 psychiatrists per 100,000 people.) In addition, the impacts of climate change are compounding displacement for families, many of whom have been displaced multiple times during the conflict; nearly 100,000 people have been displaced since January 2023 due to torrential rains and flooding. 

“The needs of women and girls in Yemen are huge and urgent,” said UNFPA’s Representative in Yemen, Ms. Enshrah Ahmed. “This generous contribution will enable UNFPA and its partners to continue safeguarding the health and well-being of women and girls in surviving one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.”

The USAID contribution will expand access to high-quality reproductive health and protection services for women and girls in areas where needs are most severe. The funding will enable UNFPA to provide a package of reproductive health, protection, and mental health and psychosocial support services in 14 hospitals and four mobile health clinics. Twenty women’s and girls’ safe spaces will be supported to provide psychosocial care, livelihood opportunities – providing them with essential skills such as cooking, livestock breeding or electronics repair – and referrals for legal aid and medical services. The new funding will also help the delivery of immediate, life-saving supplies to families on the move as they flee conflict or natural disasters, through support to the UNFPA-led Rapid Response Mechanism. 

UNFPA requires $40 million over the next five months to fund its life-saving response for the reproductive health and protection of women and girls in Yemen. UNFPA leads the coordination and provision of women’s reproductive health and protection services across the country.