When humanitarian operations shift, agility becomes essential. That’s exactly what the ETC demonstrated in Sana’a, Yemen, where a recent downsizing at the UN Common Accommodation Facility (UNCAF) prompted a rethink of space—and a smart reinvention.

With the original ETC hub no longer viable due to reduced capacity, the team faced a choice: scale back or get creative. They chose the latter.

The team repurposed a dormant restaurant within UNCAF into a fully functional coordination hub. What was once a quiet dining space has now been transformed into a fully functional coordination hub, complete with meeting rooms, office space, and modern IT infrastructure. The newly adapted space now offers:

• A dedicated meeting zone for UN agencies and humanitarian partners
• Office desks for UNDSS duty officers and ETC support staff
• Professionally managed facilities overseen by the ETC
• Modern IT infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted operations

This strategic move preserves the ETC’s ability to support humanitarian partners without compromising on quality or connectivity, even amid shifting constraints. By reimagining underused space, the team has safeguarded critical coordination capacity and reinforced its role as a backbone of the humanitarian response in Yemen.