The civil war in Yemen has led to the greatest humanitarian emergency in the world, disproportionately impacting women and girls. The crisis has further deepened gender inequalities and women’s vulnerabilities to violence and harassment. Further amplifying the situation are poor policy implementation, a shrinking civic space - particularly for women’s organisations - and a retreat in recent hard won gains around women’s voices and leadership within peacebuilding processes.

Despite these realities, the context in Yemen offers significant opportunities for advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Recognizing this need and opportunity, SOS Foundation for Development (short: SOS Foundation), CARE Yemen, RNW Media, and two implementing partners (Manasati30 and Generation without Qat), as part of an international consortium led by CARE Nederland, have been implementing the WPS3 in Yemen since 2021. The WPS3 is a strategic partnership funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) under the Strengthening Civil Society Policy Framework. It is a five-year initiative that seeks to contribute to lasting peace and to building a more equal society through addressing both women’s immediate needs and the underlying causes of their limited inclusion in relief, recovery and peacebuilding processes.

The Consortium commissioned Optimum Analysis to conduct a mid-term review of the WPS3 programme, covering the first half of programme implementation (1 January 2021 – 30 June 2023). The main purpose of the mid-term review is to assess the overall achievements and effectiveness of the WPS3 programme at the mid-point and provide recommendations on how the Partnership could be improved in moving forward.