Yemen’s Children Suffering in Silence

On 26 March 2015, at the request of the Government of Yemen, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched a military operation in Yemen to dislodge the Houthi forces (also known as Ansar Allah) from territory previously seized during late 2014 and early 2015. As a consequence, an already severe pre-conflict humanitarian situation has been compounded while also prompting a large scale protection crisis. Twenty-one out of Yemen’s 22 governorates are affected by the conflict which has seen extensive and sustained aerial bombardments and ground fighting, including the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas, and alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by all of the warring parties.
As a direct result of the ongoing and often brutal armed conflict during the past year, children’s lives in Yemen have been torn apart. Girls and boys are now facing daily challenges to both survive the conflict and access enough food, safe drinking water, and basic healthcare. And while the fighting continues and the delivery of vital humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to those most in need is obstructed, the lives of thousands more children are at risk. The future for those that survive is also uncertain. The number of children who are not attending school has more than
doubled during the past twelve months and now equates to nearly half of the school-age population. Many children have also been psychologically scarred and will need significant support to recover from their experiences and be able to live happy and productive lives in the future.