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Yemen crisis

Yemen is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises – and children are being robbed of their futures.

2-year-old Ismail Abdo Ahmed rests on the knees of his mother,

UNICEF/UN0793365/Yemen/2023/Bin Hayan - YPN

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Yemen crisis: What you need to know

What’s happening in Yemen?

Yemen remains one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with around 23.4 million people in need of assistance, including almost 13 million children.

After eight years of conflict, the national socioeconomic systems of Yemen remain on the edge of total collapse, while conflict, large-scale displacement and recurring climate shocks have left families vulnerable to communicable diseases outbreaks. By late 2022, more than 17.8 million people, including 9.2 million children, lacked access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services. The country continues to experience regular outbreaks of cholera, measles, diphtheria and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

How is the crisis affecting children?

Thousands of children have been killed or maimed since the beginning of the conflict, and thousands more have been recruited into the fighting. The ongoing humanitarian crisis has increased the vulnerability of children and women to exploitation, violence and abuse, child labour, killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict as combatants and in various support roles, domestic and gender-based violence, child marriage and psychosocial distress. More than 8.8 million children need protection services.

The damage and closure of schools and hospitals has also disrupted access to education and health services. More than 2 million children are out of school, leaving them even more vulnerable. Meanwhile, Yemen’s already dire hunger crisis is teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe. By late 2022, around 2.2 million children under 5 years of age were experiencing wasting, including more than 500,000 children suffering from severe wasting.

In April 2022, Sana’a authorities signed an Action Plan with the United Nations to protect children and prevent grave violations against them in the context of the armed conflict in Yemen. In August 2022, UNICEF welcomed the announcement that the parties to the conflict in Yemen had agreed to the United Nations’ proposal to renew the truce for an additional two months.