Participant plays on a slide outside one of War Child’s centres in Yemen.
Where we work

Yemen

Nine years into the conflict in Yemen, almost 10 million children remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

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The crisis in Yemen has been deemed one of the worst of our lifetime.  

After nine years of conflict, a staggering 21.1 million people require humanitarian assistance, and over 4.3 million are internally displaced, marking Yemen as home to the world's fifth largest internally displaced population.

Widespread unemployment, internal displacement, food insecurity, and a lack of access to shelter, sanitation, healthcare, and education have left children and their families in crisis.

While fighting has substantially decreased since the truce in April 2022, the situation remains fragile. Local conflicts over land, competition for revenue from ports, trade, banking, and natural resources, as well as sporadic armed clashes, continue to cause tensions. Children often become casualties of landmines and leftover explosives due to this intermittent fighting. 

Scale of the challenge

  • 11 M

    Children in need of humanitarian aid and protection

  • 3.1 M

    Children are internally displaced

  • 4.5 M

    Children do not attend school

Our work in Yemen 

War Child has been operating in North Yemen since 2016, becoming the first international NGO to establish a presence there. Over the years, War Child and our partners have implemented projects in Sana’a and Aden, providing cash relief, food, and access to other life-saving essentials to children and their families who have lost their livelihoods due to the ongoing conflict. In recent years, we have expanded our programmes to include education and child protection initiatives throughout the country. Currently, War Child's programmes are running in the Sana’a and Ibb Governorates.

Participant Hamas at the War Child centre in her village.
The impacts of COVID-19 on Hamas’ family left her unable to go to school. This story is all too common for families in Yemen, who must place daily survival over their children’s education. Credit: Arete.
Last year I stopped going to school. My father used to earn a good salary, but it was cut and we could no longer afford the basic things we needed. Thanks to War Child I can go to school now. It’s wonderful and there are many fun games
Hamas, Yemen.

War Child’s programmes include: 

  • Providing crucial emergency aid, including child protection, education support, and food security. In 2023, War Child reached 18,462 children, young people, and adults.
  • Supporting children’s education through the rehabilitation of schools and the provision of school furniture and learning equipment. In 2023, 6,606 children were supported, and 258 teachers participated in teacher training.
  • Providing families with cash relief to support livelihoods and meet basic food needs. In 2023, 6,725 people received support, helping to alleviate poverty and provide children with access to child protection and education services.
  • Running community centres and child-friendly spaces.
  • Training caregivers with the tools to support their children's mental wellbeing at home.
  • Identifying and working with individual vulnerable children facing specific risks to their safety and wellbeing. 
  • Training and mobilising community-based child protection committees to enhance community understanding of child protection risks and their ability to respond to these long after War Child projects have ended.
Yemeni girl smiles to the camera whilst colouring and drawing in a War Child child-friendly space in Yemen.
We won’t stop until every child living through conflict is safe from harm. 

But we can’t do it without you. 

Donate to War Child today and help us be there for children like Hamas in Yemen and other conflict zones around the world.

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