SUMMARY

With Yemen now entering its eighth year of conflict, millions of people in the country have endured the compounded impacts of the war, disrupted public services, and ongoing economic crisis. Escalating conflict in 2022 has led to civilian casualties, further disruption of public services, and increased displacement, intensifying humanitarian needs. Approximately three-quarters of Yemen’s population (over 23.4 million people) need humanitarian protection and assistance in 2022. The current figure represents a 13% rise from 2021.

Continued conflict and the usage of the economy as a tool of war have taken a distressing toll on the Yemeni people. At least 19 million people are currently in need of food assistance and access to clean drinking water. Children are of particular interest in this conflict, as a record 2.2 million suffer from acute malnutrition.

Yemen’s predicament is grim, as food insecurity and limited access to health care services continue to degenerate the wellbeing of the most vulnerable populations, primarily children and women.  The prolonged fuel crisis, which began in June 2020, endures in the north, heightening an already worsening humanitarian situation.

Here are a few things we’ve been watching:

Houthi Advances

The Saudi-controlled coalition has occupied various regions of the provinces of Shabwa and Marib to repel advances by the Houthi movement.

Per ACLED, in 2021, nearly half of all fatalities from political violence occurred during the Houthi offensive in Marib, beginning in February 2021. While the government maintains control of the central city in the province of Marib and neighboring gas and oil reserves, UAE-backed Giants Brigade, the largest component of the National Resistance Forces, and other pro-coalition Yemeni forces reinstated authority in jurisdictions around Shabwa.

Coalition Attacks Against Houthi

In response to Houthi provocation, coalition warplanes conducted airstrikes in the areas occupied by the Houthis on January 21, 2022. The airstrikes hit the main port of Hodeida and other major regions resulting in significant civilian casualties.

The sea blockade on Yemen and the punishing air strikes are now entering the seventh year, with humanitarian conditions in the country worsening following Saudi Arabia’s added restrictions on fuel and gas imports since January 2021.

The hardest hit facilities have been educational and health, which were already in poor condition. More than 2 million children are out of school, and half of the country's hospitals are out of commission. Damages to water and sanitation facilities and the devastated health system have resulted in rapid spread of diseases such as measles, dengue, polio, diphtheria and cholera.

Data from the United Nations Development Program shows that the war has claimed over 377,000 lives, with 150,000 tied directly to violence, and the balance to diseases and hunger. The majority of the dead are women and children.‍

Effects on Children

Over half of the Yemeni population who need dire humanitarian assistance and protection are children. Between 2018 and 2022, children accounted for a quarter of all civilian casualties.

Yemen presently has 4 million displaced persons, with 1.5 million of them being children. Thousands of children continue to seek refuge in countries abroad.

Since the escalation of the conflict in Yemen, UNICEF cautioned that children have been battling severe levels of acute malnutrition, with at least 400,000 children under the age of five at the risk of death.

Due to war damages, one out of six schools can no longer be used. This has forced over 2 million children out of school. Parties to the conflict continue to use learning institutions for military activities.

The UN has reported that the Yemeni government, the UAE, and the Saudi-led coalition have all recruited children and are using them in hostilities.

Economic Crisis

The clashes, coupled with the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to a sharp devaluation of the country’s currency. As a result, Yemenis' purchasing power has declined significantly, with a large portion of the country's population citing difficulties meeting their basic needs.

In addition to the economic crisis, insecurity and endemic violence, multiple external and domestic shocks are driving these contractions, including the war in Ukraine and weather events. Widespread damage to critical infrastructure has significantly curtailed essential services, and the war has disrupted the payment of civil servants, undermining efforts to avert further deterioration of human development outcomes and safeguard human capital.

The already dire food crisis in Yemen is worsened due to soaring food prices, further aggravated by the war in Ukraine. As a net food importer, Yemen has suffered greatly from the rising global commodity prices.

Famine to Rise 5X

The number of people in Yemen experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger is projected to increase from the current 31,000 to over 161,000 by the end of 2022. Unless Yemen receives substantial new funding promptly, mass starvation will follow, according to the World Food Programme.

At the beginning of 2022, WFP was forced to reduce food rations to starving populations due to a shortage in funding. As a result of these rations, households are forced to survive on barely half of WFP's recommended daily minimum food basket.

Children are at a high risk of cognitive and physical impairment due to acute malnutrition. The plight of Yemeni children can no longer be ignored.

Parents often lack the capacity to bring their children to healthcare facilities because of their inability to afford transportation or the expenses of treating their children.

Conclusion

While the violence in Yemen today is slightly better than it was when the war started eight years ago, the living circumstances of Yemenis are dire, and the overall conditions could be characterized as "worsening." Yemen requires humanitarian aid and protection now more than ever. The country is a major producer and exporter of crude oil and can still play a significant role in supporting the international development of Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. If the situation in Yemen worsens, the impact on the region, and the world by extension, would be catastrophic for several decades. With children being at the frontline of Yemen's failing economy and severe famine, it is the role of individual donors and humanitarian aid organizations to deliver prompt funding.

HUMANITE in Yemen

Members of the HUMANITE team began our listening and learning egagement in Yemen in 2019-20. Today, we are in regular communication with a network of friends and local organizations with whom we are discussing admittance as HUMANITE fellows, which comes with our 2-5 year commitment to Yemen and its people. We have not yet implemented any programming in Yemen.



In order to respond meaningfully with the 5-year commitment we would want to make, we will need to increase our membership base (recurring monthly donors).