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Crisis Severity0 Very lowVery high 5
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Impact0 Very lowVery high 5
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Humanitarian Conditions0 Very lowVery high 5
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Complexity0 Very lowVery high 5
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Access ConstraintsNo constraintsExtreme constraints
Key figures
Special Reports
17/11/2021
Overview
01/12/2021
Despite the conflict and dire humanitarian situation, Yemen remains the largest mixed migration route for migrants heading to Gulf countries from East Africa. An estimated 500,000 migrants arrived in Yemen between 2016–2019. In 2019 alone, over 138,000 migrants crossed the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. Arrivals started to decrease sharply in April 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Yemen and mobility restrictions were imposed. Between April 2020 and April 2021, only 15,500 migrants arrived in Yemen. Arrivals have started to increase again since June 2021, although they remain below pre-COVID-19 levels.? Most migrants and refugees in Yemen come from Ethiopia (over 90%) and Somalia, with the vast majority being adult males and a smaller percentage of children. Women make up 18% of the total.? IOM estimates that approximately 30,000 migrants are currently stranded in Yemen and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.?
Migrants and refugees in Yemen are vulnerable during every phase of their journey. In addition to the direct risks associated with the armed conflict, they often face language and cultural barriers to accessing humanitarian services. They generally lack social safety nets and frequently face discrimination from the host population in relation to access to already scarce resources, including food, housing, healthcare, and employment. Migrants have serious protection needs and are at risk of exploitation and abuse. Discrimination, detention, kidnapping, torture, rape, and forced recruitment are extremely common. Authorities often detain migrants and refugees regardless of their status. They are held in makeshift detention centres with little to no services, including poor sanitation, resulting in dangerous health conditions.?
Latest Developments
31/03/2022
No significant recent humanitarian developments. This crisis is being monitored by our analysis team.
Humanitarian Access
12/01/2021
Increased conflict and the spread of COVID-19 have hampered humanitarian access to migrants and refugees in Yemen. Bureaucratic impediments imposed on collecting data by the northern authorities and restricted movement have created difficulties in responding to the increased humanitarian and protection needs of migrants both in the north and south of Yemen?.
Download the full Humanitarian Access Overview
Information Gaps and Needs
28/11/2021
There is a lack of data on the migrant situation in Yemen. Little is known about the exact number of migrants, their location, or their needs due to access constraints.
Key Priorities
28/11/2021
Protection: migrants and refugees in Yemen continue to experience severe human rights violations, including detention, forced deportation to frontlines and torture. At the same time trafficking remains a serious protection risk. An increasing number of refugees and migrants report incidents of abuse and trafficking on their journey to Yemen and on arrival. Increasing numbers of unaccompanied minors are reaching Yemen. They are often vulnerable to abuse, child labour and prostitution. ?
Food insecurity: malnutrition is common among migrants and refugees in Yemen. They are in need of food assistance and nutrition interventions, and are more likely to face challenges accessing markets.
Health: Increased stigmatisation of migrants as carriers of COVID-19 limits their access to health services.
Education: estimations suggest that more than 80% of male refugee children and more than 70% female refugee children who do not go to school, either doing nothing or engaging in begging. ?
