The Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen In late March 2015 the situation in Yemen changed dramatically, with an escalation in the conflict that affected 21 of the country’s 22 governorates. Violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation, further straining extremely limited natural resources, stretched services, and weak infrastructure. This protracted and escalated crisis resulted in massive internal displacement as populations moved in search of safety and protection. By end of the year, 2.5 million people were internally displaced in Yemen. In November the Megh and Chapala cyclones hit the county’s southern coast, affecting several governorates, including Socotra Island. An estimated additional 20,000 Yemeni families were internally displaced as a result. Most internally displaced persons have lost their livelihoods and sought shelter with relatives or friends, in schools, public and abandoned buildings, makeshift shelters, or in the open with little to no protection. They suffer from insecurity, lack of services, and shortage of food and water, prompting public health concerns. Protection assessments have found that women and children are especially affected by the conflict and that women are subject to particular protection problems, especially given the large number of singlefemale-headed households. Despite operating in an environment with ongoing conflict, access constraints, lack of capacity, and funding limitations, UNHCR in coordination with other UN agencies and partners worked to facilitate the provision of life-saving protection, material assistance, and services to IDPs. Due to the unstable security and political situation, the plan of action for the implementation of the 2013 National Policy on IDPs could not be pursued. Focus shifted from registration and promoting durable solutions for IDPs to emergency responses and population movement tracking. The Protection Cluster, led by UNHCR, developed the ‘Protection Cluster Strategy’ and established the Task Force on Population Movement (TFPM), which became the source for statistical reporting on internal displacement and published six reports by yearend. In 2015 as the lead of the Shelter and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, UNHCR distributed non-food Items and shelter assistance to more than 288,060 individuals with critical specific needs in 20 governorates. The humanitarian community expanded its outreach and response to include both IDPs and host communities. UNHCR and partners provided services such as psychosocial care, cash and non-cash material support to help families cover specific immediate needs such as health and nutrition, legal assistance, and support with civil documentation. Humanitarian services were complemented with protection-oriented monitoring and community-level assessments. To foster community engagement and a culture of accountability, UNHCR established the Tawasul (‘dialogue’ in Arabic) call centre. The centre helped to facilitate two-way communication with IDP communities; it was also used to inform them about the services available and to better follow their needs. Other countries where large numbers of IDPs were reported at the end of 2015 included South Sudan (1.8 million), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1.6 million), Afghanistan (1.2 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), and Somalia (1.1 million). On a positive note, some 2.3 million IDPs were able to return to their habitual places of residence during 2015, compared to 1.8 million during 2014; of these, 1.4 million received UNHCR’s assistance. It is important to note, however, that the return of individuals to their original homes does not always constitute an indication of improved safety and protection in the areas concerned. With 736,800 individuals, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported the largest number of IDP returnees during 2015, including 457,500 individuals assisted by UNHCR. Pakistan reported 676,600 returnees, including 558,100 who received UNHCR’s assistance. Other countries that reported large numbers of IDP returnees during 2015 included the Central African Republic (258,300), the Philippines (254,800), Sudan (152,700), Afghanistan (123,700), Mali (53,600), Myanmar (25,300), and Cameroon (18,600). ● UNHCR Global Trends 2015 31