Yemen, in the Middle East, is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Today, more than 11 million children - nearly half the entire population of Australia - are in dire need of food, medical treatment, education, water and sanitation. UNICEF is one of the few international aid agencies working in Yemen to get these millions of children and their families the humanitarian support they so urgently need. Every day our teams on the ground are delivering the essentials like medicine, food, clean water to thousands of Yemeni children. But we still have so much more to do, and we need your help.
Despite our best efforts, life is continuing to get worse for children in Yemen. In August, the three-year-old civil war sank to an all-time low when children were deliberately targeted in attacks by warring parties.
Since the August attacks, the dire situation in Yemen has become much, much worse. Fighting has intensified in areas of Al Hudaydah, putting pressure on the city and its port. Today, almost every single child in Yemen depends on humanitarian assistance to survive.
“Today it is fair to say that Yemen is one
of the worst places on earth to be a child.”
- Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa
An injured girl is treated at Althawra Hospital in Hodeidah, Yemen © UNICEF/UN0216979/Ayyashi
What you need to know:
What is UNICEF doing?
UNICEF is racing to help as many children as we can, as quickly as possible. We are providing children caught in Yemen’s violent conflict with vaccines, clean water, sanitation facilities, emergency food, medicine and much needed medical kits. We’re also working hard to keep children in school by giving incentives to more than 143,000 teachers who have not been paid for over two years and training teachers in how to counsel children whose lives have been ripped apart by war.
How bad is it?
Yemen is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 22 million people, of which half are children, need humanitarian aid. Since 2015, over 6,500 children have been confirmed killed or injured. Nowhere is safe for children. War has forced more than half of the country’s health facilities to close due to being damaged or not having staff to operate them. On top of this, nearly two million children are out of school.
“This war on Yemen is sadly, a war on children.”
- Geert Cappelaere
The ripple effect of war on children:
Not only are Yemeni children being increasingly targeted in this war, they also bear the indirect consequences of conflict.
Malnutrition
One in three children in Yemen are on the brink of famine. An estimated 1.8 million children are acutely malnourished and the deepening economic crisis and escalating violence could make an additional 1.8 million children food insecure.
Water and sanitation
Sadly, continuous attacks on infrastructure, such as water systems, are a feature of this war. As a result, 8.1 million children have been cut off from access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
Education
One in five schools in Yemen can no longer be used because they are damaged, destroyed, sheltering displaced families or being used for fighting. Most teachers have stopped turning up to school because they have not been paid for two years and more than two million children are out of school.
“For families in Yemen, these crumbling basic
services are a matter of life and death. If they
continue to come under attack, more lives —
among them many children — will be lost.”
- Geert Cappelaere
UNICEF is one of the only international agencies on the ground in Yemen and our teams are working hard to save the lives of children. But we urgently need your help.