About the Yemen Crisis
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world. Six years of intense conflict and severe economic decline, combined with recent famine and cholera has put 66 percent of the population – 20.7 million people – in need of some form of assistance. This dire situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the UN, well over 200,000 people have been killed since 2015 by fighting, malnutrition, disease, and lack of basic services due to the war. More than 4 million people have been forced from their homes to seek shelter from disease and violence.
Women and children are already dying from malnutrition in Yemen, and the situation could grow far worse: 3.2 million people need treatment for acute malnutrition, including 2 million children under age 5. There are around 1.1 million malnourished pregnant and breast-feeding women, and more than 3.25 million women in Yemen are facing increased health and protection risks.
On top of this, there were 344,000 suspected cholera cases and 621 deaths in 2019. Of the total cases, 22 percent were children under age 5.
The war in Yemen is having a disproportionate impact on Yemeni women and girls, who are exposed to increased risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse while having a harder time accessing basic health care, including maternal and child health. Hunger and famine are a direct result of war and can only fully be eliminated by bringing the conflict to an end.
