Yemen: Two years of conflict

A country pushed towards a man-made famine

Since March 2015, Yemen has been wracked by a complex and bloody war. Today, two years on, airstrikes and fighting have led to more than 7400 deaths, an average of 65 casualties per day, and seven million others just a step away from starvation. The world now faces the largest humanitarian crisis on the globe, and must act now to avoid famine in Yemen.

Before the conflict, Yemen was marked as the poorest country in the region, but the conflict has fuelled its state of crisis. Ports, roads and bridges for supply routes, along with warehouses, farms and markets have been regularly destroyed by all sides, draining the country's food stocks. This, coupled with a flattened economy, has created an abyss of hunger and a serious threat of famine.

Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi

Every report from our own staff and news teams on the ground brings harrowing accounts of families facing agonising hunger and suffering. Now, Yemen is just a step away from famine.

A population at breaking point

The war has now forced over three million women, men and children out of their homes.
Seven million are on the brink of famine, while 17 million are food insecure. For the latter, this means that bread and tea may be the only diet available.
14.8 million people lack access to basic healthcare, while a lack of water and sanitation has caused an outbreak of cholera.

The world cannot wait for a famine to be declared before it decides to act. Join us in calling for an end to this fast growing crisis.

Two years too long: Messages from our humanitarian workers and friends in Yemen

Why I'm drawing a #RedLineForYemen and writing to my MP

By Lottie Massey, Oxfam Constituency Campaigner in York As a student in the UK, I enjoy freedoms and rights that most Yemenis can only dream of and this injustice is unbearable to me. According to the WHO, over 46,000 people have been killed... Read more

"I’m a donkey with a smile": The story of an aid worker in Yemen

Humanitarian worker Duoi Ampilan explains why, despite the dangers and the distress, he still loves his job - and does all he can to make sure your support reaches as many people as possible.

A letter from Yemen

ON THE GROUND REFLECTION: Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB's Chief Executive, recently visited Yemen where chronic poverty is being aggravated by war. Ten million people have insufficient food and two million have been forced to flee their homes. In... Read more

Yemen: all we can do is help people survive

ON THE GROUND REFLECTION: The conflict which escalated one year ago in Yemen has created one of the world's biggest humanitarian emergencies and risks pushing millions into famine. Simone Carter, Oxfam emergency responder in Yemen, describes... Read more

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Oxfam in Yemen

Millions of men, women and children are one step away from famine. We urgently need your help to feed families and save lives.

Over seven million people are severely hungry and don't know where their next meal is coming from. Children are starving, fragile and underweight. Months of devastating airstrikes, shelling and fighting on the ground have left families struggling to survive.

Oxfam is working in the worst affected areas in Yemen. We're helping so that families can feed themselves over the coming weeks. We're supplying clean, safe water for drinking and washing.

Give now and get food and water to families in crisis:

Donate to Oxfam's Yemen response

Oxfam has been working in Yemen for 30 years.

Since July 2015, Oxfam has reached more than one million people in eight governorates of Yemen with water and sanitation services, cash assistance and food vouchers.
We have provided clean water and sanitation services for more than 924,00 people, including in hard-to-reach areas of the country, through providing water by truck, repairing water systems, delivering filters and jerry cans, as well as building latrines and organizing cleaning campaigns.
Oxfam is managing to provide water to more than 55,000 people inside Taiz city by working with a local organisation and a private water trucking company, and supporting over 129,000 people in the governorate with water and sanitation services and cash assistance.
Oxfam is also supporting over 166,000 people in the southern governorates of Abyan, Aden, Lahj and Al-Dhale with water, hygiene and sanitation services.
Oxfam is providing over 205,000 people in Al-Hudaydah, Amran, Hajjah and Taiz governorates with cash to enable families to buy food in the local market or livestock so they get a possible source of income, including 35,000 individuals who took part in our cash for work programs. We are also scaling up social protection programmes.
In response to the Cholera outbreak, Oxfam has been coordinating with other international agencies, and has already directly supported over 472,000 people, which also indirectly benefitted over 450,000 people in four governorates by delivering clean water to affected communities, delivering filters, jerry cans and building latrines and providing hygiene awareness sessions.
Oxfam responded to the 2014 fuel crisis with the distribution of water filters to 3,300 vulnerable households and a cash transfer to an additional 1,000 households in western Yemen.
Since 2012 Oxfam has rehabilitated water systems in 41 rural communities in western Yemen, providing more than 125,000 vulnerable people with safe drinking water.
In the north in Sa'ada governorate, where years of conflict have destroyed infrastructure and created significant access constraints, Oxfam is working on repairing and installing water sources, and has reached 58,000 people.
Together with partners, Oxfam is working to empower women economically, socially, and politically to have a say in decision making at all levels.
Planning for the longer term, Oxfam is piloting three solar pump drinking water systems, reaching more than 20,000 people in three communities.