Yemen Humanitarian Crisis

When war tore through her home town of Taizz, Hadiya fled with nothing.

Now, she is camped out with her children and grandchildren in a wreck of a building many miles away—unable to return home and uncertain what the future might hold.

Photo: ©UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

Six years of conflict have forced 4.6 million people to flee their homes and approximately 67 percent of the population—20 million people—are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Please help us reach these families with life-saving aid.

Shelter kits

to help repair bomb-damaged homes

Essential items

like mattresses, blankets and kitchenware

Emergency cash grants

to help families access food and medicine

What’s happening in Yemen?

Six years of fighting in Yemen have driven millions of people from their homes. Many families fled with just the clothes on their backs and now face a bitter struggle for survival. UNHCR is on the ground, helping families find shelter, essential supplies and healthcare. Public support is urgently needed to help us reach more people and save lives.

Worsening violence has disrupted the lives of millions, resulting in widespread casualties and massive displacement. It is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. With no political solution in sight, the situation is rapidly deteriorating, resulting in widespread causalities and massive displacement. Without help, millions of lives will be lost to violence, treatable illnesses or lack of food, water and shelter.

Yemen remains the worst humanitarian crisis in the world with over 23.4 million Yemenis (73 percent of the total population) in need.

Where are Yemeni families fleeing to?

Many families seek refuge in neighbouring countries, like Djibouti and Somalia. But conditions in the surrounding region are so poor that many others stay within Yemen—despite the conflict and risk.

​Why are people starving in Yemen?

Yemen has always been one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. But the impact of war—together with strict blockades that prevent food and aid entering the country—has brought the country to its knees and pushed millions of families to the brink of starvation.

​Where in the country is UNHCR working?

We have teams on the ground across Yemen, reaching vulnerable families in all 20 governorates affected by the conflict. We are helping displaced Yemenis, as well as refugees who flee into Yemen, to escape neighbouring conflicts.

Where can I access the latest data and reports?

Yemen Operations—UNHCR’s relief work to protect displaced people inside Yemen.

Yemen Situation Portal—for latest updates on the crisis overall, including UNHCR situation reports, funding requirements and UNHCR’s support for countries taking in refugees from Yemen.

What kind of relief is UNHCR providing?

UNHCR is providing life-saving aid to displaced Yemenis, as well as to refugees and asylum-seekers, across the country.

We’re providing families with emergency shelter, special kits to help them repair bomb damage and cash assistance to help them access food and medicine. In addition, we’re supplying mattresses, blankets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, buckets and more to those who’ve lost everything in the war.

Our shelter kits help families repair homes damaged in the conflict, and we refurbish public buildings and settlements that now host displaced families. We support health facilities that serve refugees, asylum-seekers and Yemenis affected by violence, and we work to prevent and control the spread of cholera, which has arisen as a result of the conflict.

We are providing legal and financial assistance as well as psycho-social support services to help those affected by the war. We are also continuing to protect and support refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from the Horn of Africa, who remain in Yemen despite the conflict and are particularly at risk.

Did you know that Yemen is also sheltering over 270,000 refugees from neighbouring conflicts?

Case study image

After their father was killed in fighting, Muna and Sakina fled with their remaining family.

Now they’re living in the Dharwan settlement outside Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, where conditions are basic and overcrowded.

Thanks to UNHCR and our donors, the family has been provided with emergency shelter and other essential items, so they can survive through the months ahead.

Photo: ©UNHCR/Mohammed Hamoud

Donate Today
Please help refugee families and internally displaced people in Yemen.

Donate Today
Please help refugee families and internally displaced people in Yemen.

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