Geneva Palais briefing note on the situation for children in Yemen after 10 years of conflict

SANA’A/GENEVA, 25 March 2025 - “The conflict in Yemen has reached a tragic milestone – over one decade of largely unrelenting conflict, with only brief and fragile periods of reduced hostilities, that has stolen childhoods, shattered futures, and left an entire generation fighting to survive.

“Today, I stand before you not only to share numbers but to amplify the voices of millions of children trapped in one of the world’s worst protracted humanitarian crises—a crisis defined by hunger, deprivation, and now, a worrying escalation.

“1 in 2 children under five are acutely malnourished. Among them, over 537,000 suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM)—a condition that is agonizing, life-threatening, and entirely preventable. Malnutrition weakens immune systems, stunts growth, and robs children of their potential. In Yemen, it is not just a health crisis—it is a death sentence for thousands. 

“Equally alarming, 1.4 million pregnant and lactating women are malnourished, perpetuating a vicious cycle of intergenerational suffering.

“This catastrophe is not natural. It is man-made. Over a decade of conflict has decimated Yemen’s economy, healthcare system, and infrastructure. Even during periods of reduced violence, the structural consequences of the conflict—especially for children—have remained severe. More than half of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive. Food prices have soared by 300 per cent since 2015. Critical ports and roads—lifelines for food and medicine—are damaged or blockaded.

“Despite these incredibly difficult and often dangerous operating conditions, UNICEF remains on the ground, delivering for children.

“In 2025, we continue to support 3,200 health facilities, the treatment of 600,000 malnourished children, 70 mobile teams, 42,000 community health workers and 27 therapeutic feeding centres. For this to continue, we need sustained funding. Otherwise, 7.6 million people in Yemen risk not having access to primary health care.

Our 2025 appeal is only 25 per cent funded. Without urgent resources, we cannot sustain even the minimal services we are able to provide in the face of growing needs. 

“Time is of the essence here because, for those 527,000 children with SAM, every minute counts. A child with SAM is 11 times more likely to die than their healthy peers. Without treatment, they will perish silently. Even those who survive face lifelong consequences—impaired cognitive development, chronic disease, and lost economic potential. This is not just Yemen’s loss; it is humanity’s failure. 

“Last month in Taiz, in the south of Yemen, I met 3-year-old Amina. Her mother walked 12 kilometres in search of a UNICEF nutrition clinic, clutching Amina’s skeletal frame. Today, Amina is recovering—but her future hinges on whether we can sustain support. 

“This hinges on:

“One: Funding the Response Fully: We need an additional $157 million for our response in 2025. We need sustained investment in fighting all forms of malnutrition, and the diseases, lack of education and other forms of suffering children in Yemen are forced to endure.

“Two: Protecting Humanitarian Access: All parties to the conflict in Yemen must allow unimpeded delivery of aid and allow humanitarians to do what they do best; save lives. We call for the release of detained UN staff and other humanitarian workers. And, importantly, for the conflict to cease.

“Yemen’s children cannot wait another decade. They need peace. They need justice. But above all, they need us to act—now. Let us not fail them.”

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Notes for editors:

UNICEF response in 2024: 

·       supported the treatment of nearly 432,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition among children under five.

·       supported around 3,200 primary healthcare facilities and supported provision of lifesaving primary health care services to 7.6 million people including 580,000 children under five

·       provided emergency and sustained water, sanitation and hygiene support services to 1.2 million people.

·       supported over 49,600 teachers to continue providing education through the payment of incentives,

·       provided two rounds of unconditional cash transfers to over 9.6 million vulnerable people across Yemen in 2024