Yemen is facing one of the world’s most severe and protracted humanitarian crises. After more than a decade of conflict, children and families were already struggling to survive when new shocks pushed the situation even further.

Flash floods in 2025 impacted at least 68,000 households, including 55,000 in IRG areas, damaging homes, schools and hospitals and driving protection risks due to school closures and overcrowded shelters.

An estimated 5.2 million people are internally displaced, most of them women and children, making Yemen the fifth largest internal displacement crisis in the world.

Families are living in displacement sites where conditions are extremely difficult. Many of these sites lack adequate shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, education and electricity, leaving families exposed to disease, extreme weather, and ongoing insecurity.

For many displaced families, returning home is not yet possible due to damaged or destroyed homes, livelihoods lost, and the absence of basic services. Without sustained support, millions of displaced children will continue to live in unsafe conditions, with long-term consequences for their health, development, and future.

Yemen remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises for children, after a decade of conflict, economic collapse, and climate shocks that have left over 22.3 million people in need, including 12.2 million children.

Over half of the population - 18.3 million people - face severe food insecurity, and 2.2 million children under five are malnourished.

Today, 14.4 million lack access to clean water and adequate sanitation services, forcing families to rely on unsafe water sources or drastically reduce water for drinking, cooking, and hygiene.

Climate shocks, rising prices and shrinking incomes have deepened this crisis, while regional tensions and disruptions to trade and aid have added further strain, limiting access to essential supplies and humanitarian support. Rising inflation, the collapse of essential services, and delayed salaries, have left 80 per cent of the population living in poverty.

Climate change and natural hazards also have a significant impact on children and civilians in Yemen. The country is highly vulnerable to climate-related hazards, such as floods and droughts, which can lead to food insecurity and displacement. These hazards also exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the country and make it even more difficult for civilians, including children, to access basic needs such as food and healthcare.
 

Save the Children is the biggest NGO in Yemen and has been working with Yemeni children since 1963. Save the Children significantly increased its humanitarian response when the conflict began in 2015, and despite the enormous challenges, Save the Children continues to reach the most vulnerable children across Yemen.

Save the Children is delivering life-saving assistance in southern Yemen through a multi-sector response, working both directly and with trusted local partners to reach children.

Save the Children has reaches people in Yemen through programs focused on health, nutrition, education, child protection, water and livelihoods. 

Those programs are inclusive of the following services:

• Health and Nutrition: We deliver health and nutrition services, including frontline medical care, neonatal support, mobile health clinics, and treatment for malnourished children.
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): We are improving access to safe water and hygiene through rehabilitation of water systems, water distribution, and hygiene support.
• Education: Save the Children works with formal and non-formal education systems, civil society, and the Ministry of Education (MoE) to align projects with national goals, while empowering communities through school councils and committees.
• Child Protection: We protect children from violence, neglect, and exploitation. Services include case management, psychosocial support, family tracing, and reintegration.
• Food Security and Livelihoods: We combat food insecurity through cash and voucher assistance, cash-for-work, and skills training, helping families to meet their basic needs and reduce harmful coping strategies. 
• Working with Local Partners: A central part of our response is working alongside Yemeni organizations and community partners, strengthening local capacity and ensuring assistance reaches children quickly and safely.

Save the Children has worked in Yemen for over 60 years, reaching millions of children and families since beginning operations in 1963 – including more than 13 million people since the conflict began in 2015.