Yemen
New Prospects in the Midst of Crisis
Situation Report
The ongoing civil war in the country, as well as its entanglement in the Gaza conflict and the war with Iran in 2025, have further exacerbated the crisis in Yemen dramatically. Devastating retaliatory strikes have taken place, severely affecting the entire country. Ports, airports and the energy infrastructure have been severely damaged. This destruction has ruined key sources of income for the country and significantly worsened the already catastrophic humanitarian situation. Poverty and hunger now affect at least 80% of the population. Four out of five Yemenis live in multidimensional poverty. Prices have skyrocketed whilst incomes have dried up, leaving many barely able to survive. Many families remain defenceless and left to fend for themselves, filled with fear. Yemen continues to be criss-crossed by numerous front lines, various factions and militias are fighting one another, and a political solution remains elusive.
In 2025, millions of people in the country lacked food, water and medical care. Diseases spread throughout the country as the healthcare system has almost completely collapsed. Civil war, chaos, economic ruin and the collapse of the education system have brought Yemen to the brink of total ruin. Unfortunately, in 2025, in the face of numerous global crises, up to 75% of the international aid on which the country so desperately depends was cut. Due to the instability in the country and the decline in international support, there has been no improvement in the humanitarian situation overall.
Project Implementation
To alleviate the most urgent needs of Yemen’s vulnerable population, Anugerah continued to provide substantial aid in various regions in 2025, in collaboration with local partners. The main focus of the support was emergency aid for particularly vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons and returnees, widows, orphans, single mothers, children and infants, older people, people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, members of disadvantaged households, and members of marginalised ethnic minorities such as the Muhammasheen or Achdam/Abeed.
The association Anugerah provided support by distributing food parcels, emergency medical aid and clean water, as well as by providing educational support for schoolchildren, students, teachers and parents. In total, Anugerah’s projects reached and supported more than 70,000 people across the country in 2025. We would like to thank all those who worked tirelessly on the ground to help the suffering Yemeni population – often at considerable personal risk.
1. Provision of Food and Clean Drinking Water
The ongoing war has brought the country’s economy to a virtual standstill, leading to a drastic increase in poverty, malnutrition and disease susceptibility. Official figures attribute more than half of all deaths in Yemen to a lack of food, clean water and medical care. In light of this emergency, the work of Anugerah has focused on providing the population with food and drinking water. In 2025, local teams in nine provinces organised regular aid missions, providing tens of thousands of the most vulnerable families with staple foods. Yemen is one of the world’s most water-scarce countries, and the armed conflict has further depleted its already meagre resources. According to the United Nations’ latest humanitarian needs assessment, around 22.3 million people – more than half of whom are children – currently rely on aid to gain access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). This represents an increase of 28.2% compared with the previous year.
The severe shortage of clean water is fuelling the spread of preventable diseases such as cholera and other infections. To counteract this trend, Anugerah installed rainwater harvesting systems, water filters and simple water treatment systems for poor households in particularly hard-hit regions. These measures gave many families access to safe drinking water for the first time in years, reduced the risk of disease and eased the burden on women and children in particular, who now no longer have to walk for hours to distant wells. This gave them valuable time for education, family life and rebuilding their daily lives.
2. Emergency Medical Aid
In 2025, Anugerah continued to provide urgently needed medical support in Yemen, helping internally displaced people and particularly poor families who could not afford emergency medical care. Under the leadership of Yemeni doctors and in collaboration with local partners and communes, people in need and their families received urgently needed medical treatment, including accident care, major operations, treatment for chronic and life-threatening illnesses, and support for vulnerable mothers, young children and newborns. Hygiene kits were also distributed and psychological support was provided to traumatised individuals. Given that the health infrastructure has been severely compromised by the civil war, Anugerah played a crucial role in ensuring vital healthcare for many people and in alleviating the effects of the protracted crisis.
3. Emergency Shelter: Aid for Refugees and Orphans
In 2025, Anugerah continued to provide safe shelter for internally displaced persons and war orphans in Yemen who had lost their families as a result of hostilities. Particular attention was paid to vulnerable families who had been forced to flee due to war or violence perpetrated by extremist groups. A specially established protection fund helped those affected by providing emergency accommodation and relief supplies, particularly to destitute refugee families headed by widows or single mothers. In addition to safe accommodation and support for basic living expenses, the aid also included essential medicines. Overall, these measures strengthened the dignity and resilience of those affected, despite the ongoing uncertainty in war-torn Yemen.
4. Schools and Educational Support
In 2025, Anugerah enabled numerous orphans and children affected by war and displacement in several Yemeni provinces to attend school, despite the fact that many schools remain destroyed. In collaboration with local authorities, several schools were rebuilt and renovated, new classrooms were constructed, teachers received further training, and vocational trainings were offered. Where schools were lacking, additional community-based schooling was set up. Talented young people from particularly vulnerable and poor families received temporary scholarships for secondary education, and teachers were given financial support to enable them to continue teaching and thus provide for their families. In addition, thousands of items of essential school equipment were distributed to pupils in need across various provinces. All these measures were aimed at effectively tackling the severe educational deficit among Yemen’s war generation, reducing the risk of child labour, child marriage and the recruitment of child soldiers, and investing in a positive future for Yemen.
Project Summary
Through close collaboration with local partners and thanks to generous support, Anugerah was able to provide urgently needed assistance in various areas in 2025 and create new prospects through educational work. Over 70,000 people benefited from this aid, which would not have been possible without the involvement of various stakeholders and the goodwill of the authorities. Despite the severe and ever-worsening crisis, Anugerah succeeded in bringing hope to many places, alleviating illnesses and providing emergency aid. Grateful for the passion and determination of its invaluable local teams, Anugerah will continue to stand by the suffering people of Yemen. Many thanks to all our supporters who helped to alleviate suffering in Yemen and sow the seeds of hope for a better future.
Project supported by the Canton of Berne Lottery Fund
