YEMEN HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

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4

million Yemenis have been forced to flee their homes because of the crisis – 79% of them are women and children.

20

million people in Yemen are in dire need of humanitarian assistance - the conflict has affected more than two thirds of Yemen's population.

16

million Yemenis suffer from hunger and 5 million more are on the brink of famine.

About the Crisis in Yemen

Yemen, located at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Six years of war have driven more than 4 million people from their homes and 20 million are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Since violence broke out in late March 2015, conditions in Yemen - already one of the poorest countries in the Middle East – have continued to deteriorate. Half of Yemen’s health facilities are shuttered or destroyed and years of economic decline and institutional collapse are pushing the country to the brink of a large-scale famine, with half a million people living in famine-like conditions and at least 16 million more facing significant risk of going hungry in 2021.

Displaced Yemenis are the ones at most risk. Approximately 67 percent of them – some 2.6 million people - are currently food insecure and studies show that they are four times more at risk of falling into hunger than others. Their situation has been further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and outbreaks of preventable diseases – such as cholera, diphtheria, measles, and dengue fever – that were long-ago eradicated elsewhere in the world.

Despite the conflict, Yemen hosts 137,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia and Ethiopia, making it the world’s second largest host of Somali refugees.

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Displaced Yemenis need our help

What is UNHCR doing to help in Yemen?

Despite challenging circumstances, the UN Refugee Agency is on the ground delivering lifesaving support to millions of displaced Yemenis as well, as to refugees and asylum-seekers, across the country.

Protection and food security remain the top priorities. UNHCR is helping displaced Yemeni families meet their basic needs through the provision of shelter, essential household supplies, cash assistance, registration services and legal aid. The cash-assistance program reaches more than one million people every year.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR has also been supporting health facilities, distributing hygiene kits and promoting activities to raise awareness about the disease.

Learn more about What We Do.

 

Stories from the Yemen crisis

Yemen Crisis Explained

What is it like to be a woman in Yemen?

See all stories about the Yemen refugee crisis >

Yemen Refugee Camps and Settlements

Somali family sits near their shelter in Kharaz refugee camp in Yemen.

Somali refugee family sits near their shelter
in Kharaz refugee camp, Yemen.

  • In 2020 alone, approximately 172,000 people became uprooted in Yemen, giving the country the fourth largest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the world - after Syria, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 1 in 4 of the displaced Yemeni families is headed by a woman or girl - 20 percent of whom are under the age of 18.
  • Approximately 66 percent of the internally displaced in Yemen live in dangerous locations, characterized by widespread food insecurity and lack of basic services.
  • As of August 2020, Kharaz refugee camp hosted nearly 9,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia. More than 50 percent of them were women and girls.

Other Emergencies

Help Refugee Families

War, violence and persecution have forced millions of families from their homes. They urgently need shelter, protection and safety. You can help rush critical supplies like medicine, clean water, food and tents to desperate children and families. You can provide refugees with emergency support, long-term care and hope for the future.

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