Eight years of ongoing conflict in Yemen have created a sustained economic crisis and severely damaged the country’s water infrastructure and public health system. Yemen’s most impoverished people, largely women, children, and elderly, are the most severely affected. Many of them have been displaced from their homes by conflict more than once.
The conflict that erupted in March 2015 has killed more than 19,000 civilians, forced in excess of 4.5 million to flee their homes, and has left the country in a dire hunger crisis. More than 21.6 million people -- two thirds of the population -- need humanitarian assistance and protection. Lack of access to clean water and decent sanitation has created a severe risk of cholera, which has affected millions of people. Overall, 3.5 million people in Yemen are acutely malnourished and 17.3 million people are suffering from hunger. The high price of fuel in Yemen is also partly responsible for rising prices for nearly everything, including food. The conflict in Ukraine is making the crisis even worse: Yemen imports 90 percent of its food; 42 percent of its wheat came from from Ukraine before the conflict started there.
With local partners, Oxfam is fighting inequality by responding to both the immediate and long-term needs of people in Yemen. Since July 2015, Oxfam has helped more than three million people in nine governorates of Yemen. We’re improving access to clean water and sanitation, and disseminating information about how to avoid cholera and COVID-19. We’re also helping people start businesses and support themselves, working with allies to advocate for an inclusive and sustainable peace, and working with Yemeni partners to reduce violence against women and other vulnerable people.