Improving Human Capital and Building Livelihoods for Vulnerable families in Yemen
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2026 – The World Bank”s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$100 million International Development Association (IDA) grant for the Cash for Nutrition and Livelihoods Project in Yemen, which will provide critical assistance to vulnerable households, with a focus on new mothers and children under two, and provide income-generating opportunities to ensure that gains are sustained. The project will be implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with the Social Fund for Development (SFD).
Yemen is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. Over 18.3 million people are acutely food insecure, poverty has reached an estimated 74 percent, and nearly half of all children under five are stunted. Over 2.2 million children under five and 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished.
The project is expected to reach 1.8 million people – at least 50 percent of them women – in 15 of the country’s governorates that have the highest concentrations of malnourished children. The project will focus on the critical first 1,000 days of life, from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, when nutrition has its most lasting impact on health, development, and life outcomes.
Alongside the nutrition component, the project supports livelihoods to sustain the gains achieved through cash transfers. Around 55,000 individuals, with a priority on Cash for Nutrition beneficiary households, will join Village Savings and Loan Associations, enabling them to save, access credit, and invest in income-generating activities that sustain their families beyond the life of the project. The project will also support over 675,000 people in obtaining national identity cards and birth certificates, removing a key barrier to accessing financial services and economic participation.
“This project builds on what we know works in Yemen, combining direct support to families today with the economic tools and institutions that will carry communities forward,” said Stéphane Guimbert, World Bank Division Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. “We are investing in Yemenis’ own capacity to build a better future for themselves and their children.”
The project also introduces a notable innovation targeting around 2,000 Yemeni youth with a digital microwork program, with at least half of participants being women. Youth between the ages of 18 and 35 will receive training in digital literacy and platform-based skills, and are equipped with tablets and internet connectivity to perform digital tasks for employers in global online markets.
This new project, which runs through June 2029, is part of the World Bank Group’s commitment to Yemen, with an active portfolio of US$2.4 billion across 12 active projects. It directly advances the FY2026-2030 Country Partnership Framework for Yemen, endorsed in June 2026, as the World Bank Group works with Yemeni partners to build the institutions, systems, and human capital that will sustain the country’s recovery and future. The project is co-financed by an additional US$1.8 million from the Yemen Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction Multi-Donor Trust Fund.