April 8th, 2025 - A new project titled "Providing Critical Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health Care to Internally Displaced People and Local Communities in Yemen" has been launched. Funded by the Government of Japan and implemented by IPPF Member Association in Yemen, the Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH), the project aims to enhance and sustain high-quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and awareness for Yemen’s crisis-affected populations in Aden and Amran. Following years of conflict and instability, Yemen's humanitarian needs remain severe, with an estimated 19.5 million people in need of assistance (OCHA). Internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host communities are particularly affected, struggling to access essential maternal, newborn, and reproductive healthcare.  The new funding will allow for expanded services, ensuring lifesaving care reaches more communities, particularly women, youth, and newborns. It aims to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity while improving care for survivors of gender-based violence. Additionally, community outreach and capacity-building programmes will empower individuals with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Key activities include: Renovating and upgrading two health facilities (one in each project governorate) to provide high-quality SRH, maternal and child health, and gender-based violence (GBV) services, as well as nutrition and cholera treatment. Ensuring IDPs, host communities, and returnees receive critical reproductive healthcare, including antenatal and postnatal care, family planning, and emergency obstetric and newborn care. Training healthcare professionals from YARH and other local health facilities in the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP), Clinical Management of Rape, and sexual reproductive health in emergencies (SRHiE). Conducting 480 awareness-raising sessions led by trained peer educators to educate nearly 5,000 individuals on SRH, HIV, cholera, nutrition, and gender-based violence. Training 40 community and youth peer educators to strengthen SRH education and advocacy efforts in local communities. H.E. Mr. NAKASHIMA Yoichi, Ambassador of Japan to Yemen stated, “Ensuring access to quality maternal and reproductive health services for crisis-affected communities underscores our commitment to supporting vulnerable populations in Yemen. We look forward to beginning this new project”. Dr. Ali Norman, Executive Director of YARH, emphasised, “By strengthening health infrastructure, training healthcare workers, and engaging communities, we are improving the health and well-being of mothers, newborns, and families across the region. We are grateful for the support from the Government of Japan.” Dr. Fadoua Bakhadda, Regional Director of the IPPF Arab World Regional Office, added, “This support ensures that we can keep delivering essential SRH services to communities in greatest need. This funding will be transformative for women, children, and families in Yemen, particularly in underserved areas.” Over the course of this project, it is anticipated that: Over 10,000 women, newborns, and young people will receive quality SRH and maternal health services. 1,000 women will be reached with gender-based violence services. Over 4,000 internally displaced persons and host community members will receive information on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including GBV and other health services. Peer educators will be trained in communication skills, basic health, hygiene, and SRHR education. Healthcare service providers will receive specialised training to enhance the quality of SRH services in emergencies.  About YARH Established in June 2009 as a not-for-profit voluntary non-governmental organisation, the Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH) is registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs and became an IPPF Member Association in 2010. Through two clinics and one youth-friendly service centre, YARH provides quality SRH services to people in Yemen. The organisation plays a key role in building strategic partnerships with other entities focused on young people’s programmes and actively involves youth in identifying, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating projects. YARH is a strong advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Key partnerships include the Ministry of Public Health (Department of Reproductive Health, National AIDS Programme, General Directorate for Women's and Child's Health), the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Scouts, Guides, and Sport Clubs), Sana’a University, the Population Research and Studies Centre, local NGOs active in reproductive health, private universities, and organisations focused on human rights, gender equality, and women's rights, including the Women's National Committee and the National Information Centre. About IPPF Arab World Office The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Arab World Office is a leading healthcare provider and advocate for SRHR in North Africa and the Middle East. Established in 1971, it is one of IPPF’s six regional offices, supporting a network of member associations across the region. IPPF AWR is committed to delivering essential health services and championing reproductive rights, particularly in crisis and humanitarian settings.  

With support from the FY2024 Supplementary Budget received from the Government of Japan, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Member Associations will initiate humanitarian activities in three countries, namely Afghanistan, Lebanon and Yemen, aimed at protecting the health and lives of vulnerable populations affected by local crises through the community-based provision of sexual and reproductive health and essential health services, including maternal and child health, in the following areas:    Afghanistan: Logar and Parwan Provinces   Lebanon: Bekaar Valley    Yemen: Aden and  Amran Governorates  All the three projects aim to increase people’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender-based violence (GBV) related care and information. They also seek to strengthen the capacity of service providers to deliver rights-based, quality, and client-centered services, as well as to empower peer educators and community members to raise awareness of SRHR and related health issues. By leveraging and expanding local networks, knowledge, human resources and facilities developed through years of grassroots activities in each country, IPPF will expand the impact of its work and create sustainable change in people's lives.   The IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "We sincerely appreciate the support of the Government of Japan at this time of great concern for the future of global peace, health and well-being. . While Afghanistan, Lebanon and Yemen face their own unique challenges, our community-based Member Associations will maximise the use of this valuable funding received from Japan to work to protect the health, well-being and lives of vulnerable populations affected by crises. In doing so, we will contribute to the realisation of human security so that people can live with dignity, free from ill health and the fear of violence."    By the end of February 2026, IPPF, through its local Member Associations, aims to deliver health services to 83,595 people and train 222 health service providers and peer educators across the three countries.    For further information, please contact Hanna Lund Adcock (in English, at [email protected]) and Yuri Taniguchi (in Japanese, at [email protected]). 

With support from the Government of Japan, International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) Member Associations in five countries, namely Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, will provide urgent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to communities affected by natural disasters and conflict situations.  These IPPF Member Associations will: Provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and maternal and child health services for women and girls and marginalized communities in six remote and flood affected provinces in Afghanistan; Provide urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by the escalating violence in Palestine; Improve accessibility of services and community sustainability to decrease sexual and reproductive health-related mortality and morbidity of women and girls in three States with high internally-displaced populations in Sudan; Restore health facilities and access to maternal health services in conflict affected areas for populations affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine;  Provide critical sexual, reproductive and maternal health care to internally displaced people and local communities in Yemen. This vital funding from Japan will help with provision of badly needed but currently missing health services, especially for women, so that they can live with dignity and free from unwanted pregnancies, death of themselves and their newborns, and reproductive ill-health. It will allow us to provide essential and quality SRH and maternal and child health services in the communities, prevent and manage the consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, including the clinical management of rape, equip community-based midwives with skills to provide high quality obstetric and neonatal services and strengthen health information systems to collect high quality data to respond to the needs and priorities of women and girls’ health. IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "I offer heartfelt thanks to the Government of Japan for their  unparalleled generosity to enable IPPF to respond to the needs of women and girls caught up in crises around the world. This generosity will allow IPPF and our local partners to provide a critical lifeline to the growing number of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance."   By the end of December 2024, IPPF, through our local partners in the five countries, will aim to deliver health services and information to at least 239,000 people in total.   For further information, please contact Yuri Taniguchi, IPPF London Office, at [email protected].   Photo Credits: IPPF/Hannah Maule-ffinch/Sudan

Amran is a small city about fifty kilometres north-west of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. It is one of the poorest areas in the country, with extremely low health indicators.  More than 58,000 internally displaced people are living in Amran, according to one report from the Task Force on Population Movements. This is the highest number of displaced people in the country.  The Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH) is IPPF's accredited partner on the ground. Through them IPPF is prioritizing health access for women and girls, especially for those who are pregnant. YARH is also providing essential life-saving services to vulnerable groups. These people are at risk of sexual violence and fatal illness and diseases.     YARH, with Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population, deployed a mobile medical team to Amran between September and November 2016. They treated approximately 600 internally displaced people, more than two-thirds of them women, who mostly received pre and postnatal care, counselling, contraception and essential medical treatment.  The mobile team was made up of a female medical doctor and two midwives, two coordinators and a driver. They targeted displaced people in three remote districts: Khamir, Raydah and Kharif. With support from UNFPA and the Yemeni Women Union, we distributed a total of 1,000 dignity kits in Yemen. We also provided clean delivery kits to pregnant women in need. A low take up of family planning among these women is due to both a lack of awareness of and access to reproductive health services. In our raising awareness sessions we placed great importance on child spacing and how this can improve maternal and child health. We also reached just under 2000 people in displaced communities, with information on breastfeeding, nutrition and hygiene. In other initiatives on the ground, YARH is also working together with people living with HIV and up-skilling service providers on delivering contraceptive implants. Complementing these activities are empowerment projects youth leadership programmes to increase access to comprehensive sexuality education. Conditions are extremely tough – and dangerous – but we remain committed to serving the people of Yemen and doing all we can for their sexual and reproductive health.