4.

Roles and responsibilities

Before the outbreak of the sixth war most actors in Yemen were part of the development community and only few agencies had projects of a purely humanitarian nature. The renewed fighting in some governorates in northern Yemen and the level of vulnerability reached in other parts of the country has called for a strong engagement by humanitarian partners to assist the Yemeni population. As a result, more and more actors have become active on the ground or have nearly finalised plans to start operations in Yemen. It has therefore become necessary to boost the overall coordination of all initiatives undertaken by the individual partners to ensure there will be no overlap or major gaps in the provision of assistance. Recent discussions have led to the following proposed humanitarian coordination structure:
Relevant governmental institution MoPH&P Cluster members and other humanitarian stakeholders INGO Forum, OCHA CHF, IOM, Oxfam, UNDP and UNFPA FAO, ICRC, IR, YECO, YRCS ICRC, UNFPA, UNICEF, YRC CSSW, IR, MDM, SC, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, YWA. MSF Spain is an observer to the cluster CHF, CSSW, IOM, RI, UNFPA CARE, IOM ADRA, CARE, CSSW, IR, SFD, UNDP, WHO, YRC Implementing / Operational Partners ADRA, Al Amal, Al Tadamon, Al Takamal, CARE, CSSW, DRC, IDF, IR, INTERSOS, SHS, SC, YRCS

Cluster name Coordination Support Services Early Recovery Food and Agriculture Health Nutrition Protection and Education Shelter / NFI / CCCM WASH Other Humanitarian Needs Multi-sector (Refugee Response)

Cluster lead RCs Office UNDP

Inter-ministerial Relief Committee (IMRC), MoAI MoPH&P MoPH&P Ministry of Social Affairs & Labor (MoSAL), MoE IMRC General Authority for Rural Water-supply Projects (GARWP), MoPH&P Relevant governmental institution Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior

WFP WHO UNICEF SC, UNHCR, UNICEF UNHCR Oxfam, UNICEF UN-Mandated Agency UNHCR

GENDER IN YEMEN At the policy level the UNCT, with the support of the RC and under the leadership of UNFPA, introduced the gender dimension across the clusters and has engaged the expertise of a Senior Gender Adviser to strengthen mainstreaming gender in humanitarian interventions.

HCT The HCT is comprised of heads of UN agencies and three INGOs. It is chaired by the RC and meets on a bi-weekly basis. It focuses on humanitarian strategy, decision-making and policy direction. Cluster and inter-cluster meetings feed into the HCT meeting. HCT/Donor Forum The HCT meets monthly with ambassadors and heads of technical donor agencies. Chaired by the RC, the meetings objective is to make decisions on humanitarian strategies and policies. It is also used to brief the donor community on humanitarian action in Yemen and challenges faced. Inter-Cluster Coordinator Forum

The Inter-Cluster Coordinator Forum, coordinated by OCHA, precedes the HCT meetings and brings together cluster leads and co-leads. It is a platform for technical information exchange on cluster-specific strategies and advises the HCT on humanitarian action of an inter-cluster nature.

Clusters Cluster meetings occur weekly and are coordinated by the respective cluster leads. They are attended by cluster members and observers and aim to strategise and coordinate humanitarian activities at cluster level as well as share information on challenges and bottlenecks faced at operational level. Some clusters have established working groups at the local level of field delivery. INGO Forum The INGO Forum meets monthly and comprises heads of INGOs. Its objectives are information sharing and joint advocacy on challenges in both humanitarian and development action in Yemen. The Forum has an Emergency Response Group that focuses specifically on humanitarian action. Local NGO Forum Directors of local NGOs meet bi-monthly in a local NGO Forum. Its objectives are information sharing and joint advocacy on challenges in development and humanitarian action in Yemen.