In Yemen, More Than Two Million Children Like Hanan* Do Not Have Enough to Eat
In Yemen, children are getting the worst possible start to life due to malnutrition. Learn how your help this holiday can make a difference.
Eight years of conflict and severe economic decline are driving Yemen to the brink of famine.
Each day, children struggle to survive the triple threat of bombs, starvation and disease. Save the Children has reached more than 9 million children in Yemen with nutrition, education and protection interventions. Your donation supports this life-saving work.
For eight long years, children in Yemen have lived through a horrific war. Today, more than 21 million people—including 11 million children—need humanitarian assistance and protection.
The war has caused widespread hunger and poverty in Yemen, leaving millions of children malnourished. Already weakened health systems have been even further devastated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's estimated that 16.2 million people in the country will face high levels of acute food shortages with an estimated 21,000 children at risk of falling into famine.
More than 2.2 million children in Yemen are out of school, vulnerable boys and girls are at risk of exploitation and abuse. Since the beginning of conflict, there have been at least 376 airstrikes against educational facilities in Yemen.
As the largest aid organization in Yemen, our teams are helping thousands of children get the vital care they need. But we need your help to continue.
“This protracted fighting in Yemen is turning the country to a hell on earth for children," said Rama Hansraj, Save the Children’s Country Director in Yemen.
"Everyone is Yemen is utterly exhausted, and everyone is struggling to survive the day; fathers skipping meals to feed their children, mothers selling the very little they have, and young boys and girls are laboring day and night to help put bread on their families’ tables.
There is no safe place for the children to hide. Their schools and hospitals are ravaged by repeated and senseless fighting, their playgrounds are turned into graveyards, and their homes are struggling to feed them or keep them safe.
They are starved, isolated, left behind, neglected, and forgotten by the rest of world, as if their suffering is some sort of a natural order; when the suffering of children is the most unnatural order of all. It is an order that we are calling on the world not to accept; to say enough is enough.
A whole generation of children in Yemen is struggling daily, with detrimental impacts not only on the children’s future, but on the future of the entire country."
Save the Children has been working in Yemen since 1963. We are the largest aid organization in the country and have been responding to the crisis in Yemen since 2015.
Since May 2015, we’ve reached more than 4 million children with lifesaving assistance and we continue to deliver vital programming.
We are treating children under five suffering from malnutrition and supporting health facilities in some of the hardest-to-reach areas. With up to 75% of schools destroyed in some areas, we’re also running temporary learning programs so children don’t miss out on an education.
Investing in the future of Yemen’s children – by addressing their education, health and nutrition as well as mental well-being needs – offers the best chance of ensuring their recovery and the country’s long-term peace and stability.
Please help us by investing in the future we all share with a donation to our Yemen Children’s Relief Fund.
Sources: * Unless otherwise noted, facts and statistics have been sourced from Save the Children’s 2018 End of Childhood Report. You can access detailed data here. Other sources as follows: Population: CIA World Factbook 2015; The World Bank, 2016; Unesco Institute for Statistics (UIS)
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