The war in Yemen, which has lasted over 11 years, is impacting the lives of civilians with a severe humanitarian crisis, major economic decline and political complications that hinder international assistance.
According to UN estimates, about 22 million people in the war-torn country need aid, while nearly 17 million suffer from food insecurity. More than 5.2 million people have been displaced within the country, many of them several times. War-related deaths are in the hundreds of thousands, including over 11,000 children killed or injured.
"For more than 11 years, the humanitarian situation has been described as catastrophic in every sense of the word. The United Nations has called Yemen's situation the largest humanitarian crisis. The country is facing extremely urgent needs, especially among children, who are dying due to malnutrition and lack of medicine. At the same time, many diseases have spread and worsened significantly across Yemen," said Humaid Al-Rafiq, a human rights activist.
Economically, Yemen's GDP has shrunk by about 50 percent since 2015. Cumulative losses in growth opportunities now exceed 126 billion U.S. dollars including major damage to the oil and gas sectors. The cost of reconstruction is estimated in the tens of billions of U.S. dollars.
"Yemen has largely relied on multiple sources of revenue, both domestic and external, most notably oil revenues, along with foreign aid and loans. However, these revenues have recently stopped amid rapidly worsening economic conditions. The war has also targeted many economic structures, such as factories, ports and airports, which negatively impacts economic activity," said Mohammed Al-Harazi, a local economist.
Yemen is also the third most landmine-contaminated country: an estimated one to two million mines have been planted since 2014, resulting in thousands of casualties. Millions of civilians remain at risk, and about 6.9 million people need mine-related assistance.
International efforts towards reducing tensions are ongoing. In January, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg stressed the importance of a comprehensive political process in the war-torn country. There are proposals on the table that include a halt to fighting and improvements in the humanitarian situation.
China has also expressed support for political solutions and respect for Yemen's sovereignty, calling for increased international efforts to contain the crisis. As comprehensive settlement has not yet been reached, the humanitarian and economic impacts continue.
Yemen suffering from humanitarian, economic crisis after 11 years at war
