Yemen is a large scale humanitarian crisis, since July 2015 an L3 crisis, with more than 80% of the population or 21.1 million people in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.

The humanitarian situation deteriorated dramatically with the Saudi Arabia led military intervention in Yemen against the Houthis which started on March 26 and is still ongoing.

This has not only led to increased needs for coordination of INGOs which the INGO Forum is ready to deliver but largely changed the operational and administrative environment of INGOs active in Yemen and the challenges they face in dealing with Government of Yemen, Yemeni civil society, and the United Nations. There are 40 INGO members at the moment which indicate total funds of 93.8 million USD and 1.9 million beneficiaries reached in 2015.

To improve service delivery and protection for Yemeni and migrants living in Yemen in need of humanitarian assistance through optimal framework conditions for INGOs.

Direct: INGOs, Civil Society Organisations, government (trough capacity building)

Indirect: Yemenis benefitting from projects implemented by members of the INGO Forum.

• INGO Forum member’s collective and individual needs are represented and advocated for in exchanges and negotiations with UN/government authorities/international community.
• INGO Forum member’s individual needs are formulated/synthesized into a unified/common understanding of various issues and services enhancing this process delivered.

Expected results:  

• Joint advocacy documents produced.
• Joint advocacy and communication plans and strategies are created and implemented.
• Lobbying to government on issues raised by INGO Forum members.
• Lobbying to UN agencies on issues raised by INGO Forum members.
• Knowledge platform for/of INGOs created.
• INGO Forum Security Advisory Office (ISAO) and INGO Forum conduct joint activities.

Results from previous phases:  

The INGO Forum has worked on three main aspects: improving communication and opportunities for partnership with INGOs, strengthening coordination mechanisms for members through establishment of sub-Forum in Aden and improving/strengthening relationships with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC).

The standardization and improvement of procedures imposed by the government on INGOs is not in the interest of all actors in the ministries. -> intensify contact and dialogue with ministries.

The legal framework in stark contrast to the mechanisms for implementing and enforcing laws is relatively well developed. -> intensify dialogue with the government, capacity building.

The project works closely with the existing coordination mechanisms such as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), Clusters and the Donor Development Forum. The ISAO is to assist the INGO Forum members to deliver emergency humanitarian aid and long term development programmes.

Phase 3 01.09.2015 - 31.08.2016   (Completed)