Yemen, the country once known as the land of the happy and fortunate is far from its pre-existing glory. The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing war that began back in 2015, between the Yemeni government and the Houthi-led rebels, a coalition backed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia along with the U.S. The war has lasted for more than five years, and if not stopped, will leave devastating results in the Middle East.
As the world has been fighting COVID-19, the escalation of deaths in Yemen continues to rise with high fatality rates. Along with the pandemic, the country faces uncertainty as more than half of the country is malnourished, does not have access to clean water, and is fighting the already known cholera epidemic which has infected about 110,000 people.
Recently, the UN cut its funding to 50% as the death toll of coronavirus continues to rise. As a result, health services and hospitals in Yemen have begun to close, along with food shortages. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Yemen faced one of the highest death tolls of COVID-19. The need for basic aid and healthcare is desperate in war-torn Yemen, as a child dies every ten minutes due to hunger. Yemen is near the face extinction as the world does not stop and opens its eyes to the suffering country.
“General health services in 189 of the country’s 369 hospitals start to close in three weeks. Water and sanitation services for 8.5 million people, including 3 million children, close in three weeks. Nutrition support for 2.5 million malnourished starving children will start to close in eight to 10 weeks.” -Lise Grande (Head of UN’s Humanitarian Operations in Yemen interviewed on CNN)
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So, how can you help? Donating money is a big step towards helping people suffering due to hunger and deprivation. The following is a list of organizations aimed at helping the people of Yemen:
- UNICEF: Help Children in Yemen
- Save The Children: Help Children in Yemen
- International Rescue Committee: Yemen
- Project HOPE: Crisis in Yemen
- Yemen Hope and Relief
- Yemen Aid
- World Food Programme: Yemen Emergency
For more information and ways to help, please visit World Vision: Yemen War Facts.
