A humanitarian project funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group to provide basic food commodities to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Yemen has reached 10,990 vulnerable and IDP households comprising of 76,930 people. 

The month-long operation, designed to provide food support during the month of Ramadan, was funded by a US $500,000 grant from IsDB Group’s Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) and completed on 15^th June 2020 via direct endorsement and proactive support of Yemen’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. 

Despite the ongoing security risks on the ground, the task was coordinated and implemented through IsDB Field Office in Yemen, the IsDB Group Regional Hub Dubai, Islamic Help, an International NGO. All the organisations worked in close cooperation with local authorities. 

Six teams, at six distribution points in Marib and Shabwah governorates worked round the clock to reach the beneficiaries. Each team comprised COVID-19 screening, isolation and disinfection specialists, verification officers, food distribution officers, as well as labourers who carried the food baskets outside the distribution points in order to maintain the physical distancing amongst the recipients. 

During distribution, Islamic Help strictly followed Sphere Humanitarian Charter and UNOCHA SOPs and protocols to control COVID-19 transmission. 

Marib’s Deputy Governor has expressed appreciation to IsDB Group and Islamic Help for the project that has benefited IDPs and those affected by the ongoing conflict and natural disasters such as seasonal flooding.  He described the project as very timely and said that it had a great impact of the lives of the people in the Marib and Shabwah Governorates. 

Yemen is currently facing the largest food security emergency in the world and this has continued to affect the Marib governorate which hosts the  hosts the largest IDP population in the country.