Sahar Salah, an Islamic Relief employee in Yemen, speaks about the health crisis in the country. A lack of doctors, medicine, electricity and blood donations mean people are struggling to access healthcare, while also facing a shortage of even basic food items such as wheat, rice and oil.
On 29 March, Islamic Relief begins responding to an escalating crisis in Yemen. By 10 April, we launch a global crisis appeal in response to the rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis, aiming to raise £10 million. A recent intensification of the crisis has left 560 people dead, almost 2,000 injured and more than 100,000 displaced. “We urgently need to act before we have an acute humanitarian disaster on our hands,” warns Mohamed Salah Eldin, Yemen’s Country Director.
Islamic Relief food distributions begin in Sana’a and will continue in other governates to reach a total of 30,000 families.
In December, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launches a Yemen appeal to gain support for one of the most overlooked conflicts in the world, which goes on to raise £30 million. As one of the largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the ground in Yemen, we are able to lead the way for the DEC.
Nearly 316,000 families affected by the protracted crisis rely on us for food, vital medical assistance, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene services. As food becomes increasingly scarce, we feed 17,000 malnourished children.
Islamic Relief provides families with clean water in Sana'a, Taiz, and Saada.
Before all access routes are closed, we successfully deliver 19 tonnes of medication to combat cholera. We continue to provide life-saving aid in 18 governorates, including support for hospitals overflowing with patients.
In June, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF class the situation in Yemen as the worst cholera outbreak in the world, with over 200,000 suspected cases. The ensuing outbreak that lasts well into 2018 is thought to have infected over 1 million people. Before all access routes are closed, we successfully deliver 19 tonnes of medication. We also continue to provide life-saving aid in 18 governorates, including support for hospitals overflowing with patients.
Our staff address the UK government’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Yemen, urging action to end the conflict. Our supporters urge their MPs to take action to end the suffering in Yemen.
An Islamic Relief aid worker in Yemen, Salem Jaafar Baobaid, experiences a personal tragedy when a bombing attack displaces his family and causes his wife’s health to deteriorate: “The women and children were absolutely terrified, and their screams were all around us. My wife lost her ability to speak and remained that way for almost a week. Within a year we were forced to move 4 times in a bid to find somewhere safe to live. Throughout these personal challenges I continued delivering aid. Supported by Islamic Relief, I did all that I could to help my wife recover. But her condition requires a complete state of rest, and she was petrified by the continuing bombing attacks. She suffered for 2 years and then tragically passed away.”
June sees a devastating escalation at the port of Hodeida. Naser Haghamed, then Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Relief, is in Hodeida at the time and reflects: “When I was in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida in June, I heard the bombing and witnessed the suffering of the people – people like you and me. Grown men being carried into food distribution centres because they were too frail to stand, delirious from thirst and hunger. Women, in their hundreds, bringing malnourished children into feeding centres, not sure if they would have the strength to make it through the day. I was humbled to see our staff working 18 hours a day, seven days a week, so that at least some of these people would be given a fighting chance to survive. I saw our largest ever relief operation in action, feeding over 2 million people every month. 700 distribution points, with over 300 staff and 2,800 volunteers. I saw our teams negotiate access to areas cut off from the rest of the world. I observed what it means to be the largest humanitarian aid agency in a country crippled by war. I saw what it means to witness death and yet to save so many lives.”
In December, our advocacy work contributes to bringing about the Stockholm Agreement, a UN-brokered deal which results in a ceasefire.
Shoeyah’s son Adnan has been malnourished since birth. “I hope that my children will have good health in the future, and I pray to God to stop the war,” she says. “If there is enough food we eat, and if not, we have to be patient. The most important thing is that children get their milk. For us adults it’s not a problem if we have to stay hungry. We just eat anything to keep us alive.”
In January, Islamic Relief mourns the death of a colleague in Yemen, killed by a stray bullet while trying to deliver aid. Hamdi Abo Abdullah Al-ahmadi had stopped at a garage to change a tyre, less than a kilometre from our office. That simple everyday task claimed his life.
December marks the first anniversary of the Stockholm Agreement, but the violence in Yemen continues. Islamic Relief staff continue their work, often at great personal risk.
7.4 million people are at risk of famine in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis continues.
In response to Covid-19, we equip our staff with personal protection equipment, ensure rigorous social distancing and adapt all our food distribution sites to provide awareness messages and hand sanitation points.
Yemen experiences 3 months of flash flooding from June to September, which costs more than 170 people their lives and left many others severely injured. An estimated 300,000 people lose their homes, crops, livestock and possessions.
We implement extensive humanitarian programming in Yemen and commit an additional £7.7 million in emergency funds, but the humanitarian response to the crisis remains critically underfunded by the international community.
At a United Nations pledging event in June, we warn that 6 years of conflict has brought Yemen to the brink of famine. This year over 2.3 million people rely on the monthly food parcels or vouchers we distribute in partnership with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). Up until March, we distributed them every month. In April, this was reduced to every 2 months following cuts to the WFP’s funding from donor governments.
During Covid-19 we support quarantine centres by distributing hygiene items and ready-to-eat meals. We also strengthen health facilities and isolation centres by providing medicine, training and monthly incentives to health workers.
Father of 9, Feteeni, collects his family’s food basket from an Islamic Relief distribution point in Sana’a in October. “Every 2 months the organisation provides us with a food basket including flour, cooking oil, beans, sugar, rice and a sack of salt,” says the 62-year-old. “It alleviates our suffering.”
Around 640,000 people already rely on the regular food parcels and vouchers we distribute as the main implementing partner for the WFP in Yemen. In October we welcome a £2 million WFP boost to expand our food aid programme, so we can feed an extra 30,000 people. We also provide nutrition support for the most vulnerable at 150 health facilities and 484 food distribution points across Yemen.
Over a dozen local organisations in Yemen benefit from the launch of an intensive Islamic Relief mentoring programme. Each organisation received a tailored development plan and access to specialist training, and a collective 70 mentoring days provided by our Humanitarian Academy for Development this year.
Islamic Relief continue working with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to improve access to safe drinking water for communities in Yemen, where an estimated 17.8 million people require support meeting basic water, sanitation and hygiene needs. Our project with Sida aims to improve living conditions and control the spread of waterborne diseases and Covid-19 in Al Hudaydah governorate, reaching 29,400 people.
On 2 April, the UN negotiates a ceasefire which is later extended to bring 6 months of peace.
We support 4 district hospitals in the Amran and Hodeida Governorates to provide specialist healthcare. Over the next 2 years, the hospitals go on to help 246,217 people and conduct 1,651 surgeries. All 4 hospitals also achieve their target of providing 24/7 care.
We provide life-saving assistance to 2.6 million Yemenis in 2023 through our dedicated team of 300 staff and 3,000 volunteers – our most extensive aid operation anywhere in the world.
The collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, which had previously allowed grain to be safely exported to Yemen from Ukraine during the war in the country, has a devastating impact on the ability of Yemeni families to feed themselves. Further adding to the hunger crisis, in November the WFP temporarily pauses its general food distributions in northern Yemen due to limited funding.
The UN reports that its 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen has received only 37.5% of its funding target of $4.34 billion (approx. £3.4 billion) as of 28 November. The enormous funding shortfall highlights the urgent need for support for Yemen.
January sees a military escalation in Yemen and the Red Sea. Some humanitarian organisations are forced to suspend operations over safety and security concerns, while others assess their ability to operate. Islamic Relief continues to provide life-saving aid.
Yemen is also in the grip of a severe cholera outbreak, with at least 114 people dead, and more than 20,000 people affected within the last few weeks.
Unprecedented flooding and windstorms in August further displace tens of thousands of families, destroy vital infrastructure, and fuel the rapid spread of cholera. As of December 2024, Yemen reports nearly 250,000 suspected cholera cases and 861 deaths. This accounts for 35% of the world's cholera cases and 18% of related deaths.
As of December 2024, Yemen reports nearly 250,000 suspected cholera cases and 861 deaths. This accounts for 35% of the world's cholera cases and 18% of related deaths.
We are currently supporting 8,303 orphaned children in Yemen through our flagship Orphan Sponsorship Programme. Yet the need for support is great, with more than 1,000 children waiting to be sponsored. You can hear from one of our recipients and learn more about our work supporting these vulnerable children in this video.
Yemen has now experienced a harrowing decade of crisis. Starvation and disease are rampant, and severe economic decline means there is little opportunity for people to support themselves. In 2025, over 19.5 million people in Yemen desperately need help, with over half of them being children. Islamic Relief remains at the forefront of humanitarian response and will continue to support the people of Yemen towards a better future.