KEY DEVELOPMENTS
As internally displaced persons (IDPs) increasingly began to return home in southern Yemen, the number of registered IDPs countrywide fell to approximately 508,000 people by the beginning of October, down from more than 545,000 people in July, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As of September 30, more than 51,000 people were registered as returnees in Yemen, including more than 21,000 individuals who returned to Abyan Governorate since the beginning of August. UNHCR reported that nearly 16,000 people returned home in southern Yemen in September alone.
Farmers in Yemen are likely to harvest eight percent less sorghum, maize, and millet during the upcoming harvest season compared to last year’s harvest, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in October. The decrease in production is due to below-average rainfall, social unrest, and insecurity, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
Through more than $117 million in FY 2012 programming, the United States Government (USG) continues to support activities that address the needs of IDPs, refugees, and other vulnerable individuals throughout Yemen. USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) supports nearly $30 million in ongoing interventions, including more than $16 million in the nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sectors. USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided nearly $68 million in food assistance in FY 2012, and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) supports approximately $20 million in ongoing FY 2012 health, livelihoods, protection, shelter, and WASH interventions for refugees, migrants, IDPs, and conflict-affected populations.