Background
As a consequence of the 1991 civil war in Somalia, Yemen became a safe country of asylum for the Somali refugee population: there are currently more than 48,000 refugees registered with UNHCR and the Government of Yemen. It is estimated that this number is but a fraction of the total number of Somalis in the country, the majority being women and children that have been living in Yemen since early or mid 1990s and have experienced or witnessed violence in Somalia. Many refugees live in very difficult circumstances especially in Kharaz camp which has some 10,000 residents and in Basateen where it is estimated that more than 14,000 Somali refugees live in exceedingly depressed circumstances with very little access to assistance.
The risk assessment exercise that Intersos, in collaboration with UNHCR, started to undertake in May 2008 was designed to obtain a comprehensive picture of the protection risks faced by the refugee population in Kharaz camp and Basateen urban area, focusing on women and children.
The exercise provides UNHCR as well as all aid agencies working in Yemen, with a clear profiling of those most at risk , the gaps into the referral system, and the identification of the appropriate solution to address those risks.
Addressed Information
The Risk Assessment exercise has been conducted using the Heightened Risk Assessment Identification tool developed by UNHCR to better identify and prioritize the individual most at risk in the different operational context, ensuring their appropriate referral to the relevant services. The information collected includes:
The profiling of the population at risk in Kharaz camp and in Basateen urban area:
- Total number of the population and composition of the families
- Total number of the population identified as most at risk
- Profile of the single individual most at risk
The heightened risk categories of the individuals identified as most at risk
- The typologies of trauma to which the individual at risk has been subjected
The consolidated risk rating of the individual
The needed referral type
Information's Use and Management
All the data collected during the profiling exercise has been entered into a remote database, but due to the high confidentiality of the information, only aggregated survey data will be posted and analyzed on the platform, not individual confidential data that would be kept in the offline client interface.
Upon completion of the risk assessment exercise, INTERSOS set up a program of monitoring of the already profiled individuals, meant at reinforce coordination mechanism among the different actors, international and local NGOs and agencies and to nearly follow up the referred identified cases. With the view to preserve the absolute confidentiality of the data, especially with regard to the individual caseload, the most strict measures have been taken all along the process. Access to the data will not be open to people outside the internal network.
