With YHPF Funding and CSSW Implementation, an Integrated Relief Project in Lahij Serves as a Model for Yemen
Special Report
War affects each community differently. Urban areas and contested regions may suffer the direct effects of fighting, but the damage is not limited to conflict zones. Yemen’s remote al-Musaimir district, in the rugged northeast of Lahij Governerate, is a case in point.
Lahj Governorate is located southeast of Yemen’s capital Sana’a, and borders Aden to the north and west. It is a geographically large and topographically diverse region, but sparsely inhabited: its population of 875,000 represents 3.7% of Yemen’s total.
Throughout the current war, Lahj’s northeastern districts have found themselves close to the boundaries marking various combatants’ zones of control. In 2015, armed groups from within Lahj itself launched an insurgent campaign centered in the governorate’s central districts.
Though surrounded by conflict zones, al-Musaimir did not see heavy fighting within its borders, which made it an important destination for people displaced by the war. At the same time, damage to the transportation infrastructure surrounding the district severely limited its access to food and medical services.
The influx of IDPs and the lack of access to basic supplies combined to create a full-on medical crisis in al-Musaimir and neighboring districts. Without reliable deliveries of supplies, equipment, and personnel, health facilities in the region began to falter, and many villages in the area were left entirely without access to healthcare. Food deliveries were so limited that malnutrition became rampant, especially among children. Diseases, most notably malaria, spread freely among the weakened populace, with no adequate medical response possible.
Appropriate Intervention
Because piecemeal approaches have no chance of success in such circumstances, the CSSW and its partners responded with an integrated multi-sector project in the districts of al-Musaimir and al-Malah.
The project, which ran from August 2017 to July 2018, was funded by the OCHA-Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund (YHPF) and implemented by CSSW in partnership with For Human Development Foundation.
Together, they offered multifaceted assistance—addressing shortages of water, sanitation, health services, and nutrition—to undernourished communities. The project’s components included treatment of acute and moderate malnutrition, provision of clean water, improvements to sanitation systems, and delivery of both primary and reproductive healthcare.
94,021 Beneficiaries
The project focused primarily on medical services. Through its support for nine fixed-location health facilities, the project supported the delivery of malnutrition treatment, primary health care, and reproductive health services.
A subsidy program delivered a monthly incentive to 27 health workers, supplied partner facilities with drugs and medical equipment, and maintained two mobile clinics, one in each district.
A total of 94,021 people received health care through the program, of whom were 566 children treated for severe malnourishment, 1,597 children recovered from acute and moderate malnourishment, while 5,635 women benefited from feeding counseling sessions.
62,343 individuals received primary health care. 5,867 women received reproductive care, and the program immunized 1,467 children.
Rehabilitation of health structures, water facilities and sanitation
Medical services are more effective in communities whose residents have adequate supplies of potable water and effective sanitation systems. Recognizing this, the program supported improvements to water and sanitation systems at six health facilities, five in al-Malah district and one in al-Musaimir district, benefiting a total of 17,500 people.
A community-led initiative developed integrated sanitation services in 120 villages. In addition, eight training workshops helped 240 community leaders develop responsive community-mobilization techniques aimed at maintaining and enhancing sanitation infrastructure.
The project’s water- and environment-related efforts included the rehabilitation and improvement of water resources in 120 villages, benefiting 45,000 individuals. 1,500 basic hygiene kits made their way to malnourished families, 1,000 sanitation kits were delivered to at-risk children, and 500 water purification filters were gratefully received by malnourished households.
Looking to the Future To enhance the long-term prospects of its local initiatives, the project sponsored community outreach activities benefiting 86,393 individuals. These activities covered 1,795 awareness and education sessions conducted by 40 community health volunteers, and 8,320 home visits by hygiene educators. 437 trainees were educated through 17 intensive capacity-building courses.
The project succeeded in its effort to support and enhance the delivery of healthcare services in the two districts it served. In the process, it alleviated the suffering of thousands of citizens who otherwise would have been subject to rapidly deteriorating health conditions as a result of the war. As a result, the project management team was honored by the CSSW branch in Lahij Governorate for their expert implementation of a program that delivered dramatic, observable, and critical results.