Published: October 2024

UNICEF’s L3 response in Yemen achieved significant results between 2015 and 2022. The years 2019- 2022 in particular show a transition from a period of firefighting to a more strategic direction both in the set-up of the country office and in its programmatic vision. The prioritization of programme quality, the approval of a new Country Programme Document and a process of decentralization have all been steps in the right direction. In terms of strategic choices, four main challenges have affected YCO’s response in the period under evaluation. First, the lack of direct programme oversight has been a key impediment to understanding quality and impact. Second, while necessary, the transition to a more risk-informed approach led to delays and confusion among partners. Third, the limited integration across programmatic activities affected the sustainability and effectiveness of the response. Fourth, the lack of disaggregated data prevented the UNICEF response from consistently targeting the most vulnerable, especially during the first phase of the response. YCO’s experience and humanitarian response during the evaluation period also pointed to institutional gaps in terms of articulating a humanitarian vision and strategy in a specific context, independently of coordinated Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs). There appears to be a missing step in the articulation of the CCC into a context-specific humanitarian strategy that is informed by equity and humanitarian principles more broadly. It would therefore be unhelpful to look at UNICEF’s response in Yemen in isolation, as YCO is not only part of a wider humanitarian eco-system in Yemen but it is also closely tied to UNICEF’s institutional humanitarian strategies and approaches. The operational environment prior to the end of 2023 was seen as particularly favourable to complete the shift already initiated in the period under evaluation. Given the volatility of the situation not only in Yemen but within the region, as seen at the beginning of 2024, the recommendations below are to be taken as a basis for further institutional reflection.