Ma’rib – Approximately three out of four people displaced across 23 displacement sites in Yemen’s conflict-affected Ma’rib report having no intention to return home, according to the results of a survey recently published by the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.

Despite the relative stability that came during the recent six-month truce in Yemen, IOM has encountered very few households who intend to leave the areas they have settled in after becoming displaced.

Fears of insecurity and a lack of opportunities to earn an income were the main reasons 79 per cent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) surveyed have no intention of returning. Among the remaining 21 per cent of respondents, only three per cent reported an intention to return while the rest were indecisive or intended to settle elsewhere.

In the six months since the announcement of the truce in early April, in areas where IOM’s displacement tracking activities are ongoing, the monthly rate of displacement decreased by 76 per cent compared to the six months prior, while the number of civilians killed or injured by fighting reduced by 54 per cent, according to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly.

“The truce in Yemen brought a welcome period of calm to the country, but we are extremely concerned about the severity of needs in communities who continue to be affected by over seven years of conflict,” said IOM’s Acting Chief of Mission, Matt Huber.

More than 60 per cent of those who intend to remain in Ma’rib’s displacement sites reported that a lack of access to basic services will be their greatest challenge while avoiding eviction remains another key concern.

Most of the 2,227 households surveyed in September have been displaced for the last three years. The survey did not reach those currently displaced in host communities.

IOM’s camp coordination and camp management (CCCM) teams alleviate these hardships by coordinating essential humanitarian services across dozens of sites to ensure that IDPs’ basic needs are met and by identifying and maintaining suitable sites where they can remain.

“We call on donors to renew their commitments in the coming year to support our lifesaving work. The crisis in Yemen is far from over and people are continuing to suffer from its unimaginable consequences. Now is not the time to turn our backs,” added Huber.

Many of the sites have existed for years. Residents rely on humanitarian organizations, such as IOM, to meet emergency and long-term needs and improve their safety and dignity.

As the UN agency with the largest presence in Ma’rib, IOM not only provides crucial health care and humanitarian aid but also implements development and peacebuilding activities that address longstanding needs of communities affected by protracted displacement.

Nonetheless, funding shortfalls threaten the impact of IOM’s interventions. As of mid-November, IOM’s 2022 humanitarian appeal is only 53 per cent funded.

The Organization recently had no choice but to reduce the presence of its CCCM and health teams which provide lifesaving support to vulnerable groups. Greater funding is also needed to scale up IOM’s transition and recovery programming which focuses on improving livelihoods, rehabilitating public infrastructure and reducing barriers to education.

IOM’s humanitarian assistance to displaced people in Ma’rib is currently funded by the Governments of Canada and the United States, the European Union, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, the United Nations Central Emergency Relief Fund and the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.

For more information, please contact IOM Yemen’s Communications Team at  iomyemenmediacomm@iom.int