Ongoing since 2004, armed conflict in the Sa’ada Governorate province of Northern Yemen between the Al Houthi group and the Government of Yemen has resulted in loss of lives, damage to infrastructure, disruption in the provision of services and displacement of populations. Six separate rounds of fighting have each been followed by ceasefire agreements that have given way to more clashes. The latest round of fighting escalated in August 2009. The conflict has led to an estimated 200,000-350,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), adding to an already tense humanitarian situation in Yemen.

The international community – as well as local and national actors – have scaled up the humanitarian response since 2009. UNICEF, which promotes humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries, is a crucial actor in this response effort. It has a long-term presence in Northern Yemen and implements significant relief and development operations. UNICEF also plays a critical role as lead agency for the nutrition and WASH clusters, the child-protection sub-cluster and as co-lead for the education cluster.

Project objectives

The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) conducted an evaluation of UNICEF’s relief activities in Northern Yemen to assess the agency’s performance during an ongoing conflict there since 2004. UNICEF contracted GPPi in cooperation with the Yemeni organization Interaction in Development to assess the agency’s relief activities to date by exploring what works, what does not and why. From July-September 2010, the Real-Time Evaluation (RTE) exercise provided feedback in a participatory manner and in real time to those executing and managing the humanitarian response.

For more information on this project, please contact Julia Steets.