Eight brutal years of conflict have devastated the lives of millions of children in Yemen and left 11 million children in need of one or more forms of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Friday in a statement, warning that, without urgent action, millions could face greater risks of being malnourished. Despite a six-month truce in 2022, widespread suffering persists in the country mainly due to the deteriorating economy and the collapse of basic services.
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen stems from a devastating convergence of compounding factors: eight years of fierce conflict, economic collapse, and a crippled social support system affecting essential services. The conflict has also exacerbated the ongoing malnutrition crisis in Yemen. 2.2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition including over 540,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition - a life-threatening condition if not treated urgently.
“The lives of millions of vulnerable children in Yemen remain at risk due to the almost unimaginable, unbearable, consequences of the crushing, unending war,” said UNICEF Yemen Representative Peter Hawkins. “UNICEF has been here, providing desperately needed support throughout the past 8 years, and before, but we can only provide so much support to children and families affected without a lasting peace.”
Between March 2015 and November 2022, the UN has verified that more than 11,000 children have been killed or seriously injured. Over 4,000 children have been recruited and used by the warring parties and there have been more than 900 attacks on and military use of educational and health facilities, all of which hinder the realization of children’s basic rights to safe and adequate access to health and education. As these are just the verified numbers, the true toll is likely much higher.
According to UNICEF, years of conflict, misery and grief have left up to 8 million people in need of mental health and psychosocial services in Yemen. With multiple threats and displacements, children and caregivers are under threat, often they resort to negative coping mechanisms like child marriage, child labor and in many cases recruitment into the fighting.
Similarly, the situation for internally displaced children continues to be of huge concern. Over 2.3 million children still live in displacement camps where their access to basic health, nutrition, education, protection and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services remains inadequate.
“After 8 years, many children and families feel stuck in a perpetual cycle of hopelessness,” said Hawkins. “Visiting a family recently who have been displaced from their homes for over seven years, you realize that for too many families, little of their situation has changed beyond the children’s faces. Children have grown up knowing little but conflict, providing these children with some room for hope of a peaceful future is absolutely critical.”
UNICEF urgently requires US$484 million (€ 449 million) to continue its life-saving humanitarian response for children in Yemen in 2023. If funding is not received, UNICEF might be forced to scale down its vital assistance for vulnerable children.
“The children of Yemen should be able to look to the future with hope, not fear. We call on all parties to help us deliver that hope by committing to the Yemeni people, and pulling a country, and a weary population, back from the brink.”, said Hawkins.
The funding gap the UN agency continued to face through 2022 and since the beginning of 2023 is putting the required humanitarian response for children in Yemen at risk, including access to health, nutrition, education and WASH services (safe water, basic sanitation, basic hygiene). Without UNICEF’s support, these children’s potential to survive and develop in the complex humanitarian crisis is significantly reduced.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, is the agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. Created in 1946 as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF is today one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world. UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to protect children’s rights.
In a related development this week, 141 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) published an open letter to the Yemeni parties to the conflict, urging the warring parties “to maintain sharp focus on reaching a new truce deal and initiating steps towards a real, long-lasting, and inclusive Yemeni peace process.”
A six-month UN-brokered truce, which held between 2 April and 2 October last year, brought some relief to civilians. Since the ceasefire came into effect, fighting, conflict-related displacement and civilian casualties have notably decreased.
“As organizations actively involved in the humanitarian response across Yemen, we have seen firsthand how the movement of commodities and people has opened, enabling them greater access to lifesaving services like medical care, or simply the ability to reunite with friends and family, “ the letter said.
The NGOs called again for the truce to be renewed and expanded into a lasting peace.
“The six-month truce shifted Yemen into a new phase, one that could represent the beginning of the end of this conflict. We call on you to ensure that this moment of opportunity grows into lasting peace and promise for the people of Yemen, a new era that would enable them to restore their lives and contribute to building the future of their country”, the aid organizations emphasized.
Eight years of armed conflict in Yemen have caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties and forced millions to flee their homes, making Yemen one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Nearly 6 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the civil war in 2015. 4.5 million people are internally displaced inside Yemen.
The current level of hunger in Yemen is unprecedented. The rate of child malnutrition is one of the highest in the world and the nutrition situation is improving only slightly. However, this progress is extremely fragile and could reverse quickly if aid agencies are forced to reduce or suspend programs due to funding shortfalls. The UN estimates that 21.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2023.
Further information
Full text: 8 years of crushing conflict in Yemen leave more than 11 million children in need of humanitarian assistance, UNICEF press release, published March 24, 2023
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/8-years-crushing-conflict-yemen-leave-more-11-million-children-need-humanitarian
Full text: Open Letter to the Yemeni Parties to the Conflict from 141 NGOs. Restore and Renew the Truce and Build Lasting Peace, published March 22, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/open-letter-yemeni-parties-conflict-141-ngos-restore-and-renew-truce-and-build-lasting-peace-enar