Save the Children

The conflict in Yemen, which started in 2015, has left over four million people, half of them are children, internally displaced. It has also caused over 377,000 deaths, with almost 60 percent of the deaths resulting from indirect causes such as food insecurity and lack of access to health services. Humanitarian needs are only increasing, with over 73% of the total population in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.

The direct impact of the conflict compounds an already harrowing humanitarian scene. Over 50K people in Yemen were already in famine-like conditions according to the World Food Programme in early 2021, with 5 million just one step away. The Yemeni people have been relentlessly wrestling with back-to-back crises, from an economy in freefall to a geography that is prone to re-occurring natural hazards such as flash floods, droughts, and locust plague, in addition to the spread of communicable diseases such as cholera, measles, and COVID-19. As a result, the UN estimated in 2017 that a child under the age of five dies every 10 minutes of preventable causes. Nevertheless, armed violence kept worsening year after another to reach its peak in January 2022 with nearly one civilian killed or injured every hour during the course of one month, making January 2022 the deadliest month since the major escalation of the conflict in 2018.

The conflict in Yemen has been marked by the unprecedented violations of children’s rights by all parties to the conflict, including killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children, attacking schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. In 2021, The UN verified 2,748 cases of grave violations, including the killing and maiming of 681 children.

WE HAVE BEEN WORKING IN YEMEN SINCE 1963

Save the Children has been working in Yemen since 1963. Our main aims are to ensure children survive, have a chance to learn, and are protected from all types of abuse. Save the Children significantly increased its humanitarian response when the conflict began in 2015 and reached more than 5 million children with life-saving health, nutrition, water and sanitation interventions, education and protection services.

Focus Population

Save the Children works in both north and south of Yemen with the most vulnerable and marginalised Yemeni children and young people. We give special attention to children with disabilities, children affected by conflict، and those at risk of any sort of mental or physical abuse and exploitation. We work with parents, teachers, and caregivers to build their skills, so they may better support children and enhance the resilience of the Yemeni communities.

Our Partners

Save the Children has developed a longstanding relationship with local authorities and local civil society organisations, and we work with them hand in hand to enhance the resilience of children and their families.