Save the Children: Two-Thirds of Yemeni Children Out of School Amid Prolonged Conflict

Aden – Nearly two-thirds of children in Yemen are out of school due to the devastating impact of more than a decade of war and displacement, according to Save the Children.

In a statement Thursday, the international child rights organization said: “As the new school year begins, almost two-thirds of children surveyed in four areas of southern Yemen remain out of school after more than ten years of conflict and displacement.”

The survey, covering 2,214 households in Aden, Lahj, and Taiz, revealed that 32% of children had never attended school, while a quarter had dropped out and urgently need support to return. 

The report noted that nearly one in five cases of school dropout were linked to child labor, with families sending children to work instead of school due to dire economic conditions.

Save the Children highlighted that 92% of families surveyed did not know where their next meal would come from, 95% relied on daily labor for survival, and 84% said they could not afford basic education costs such as uniforms and books.

The assessment, which included around 14,000 people among them 5,000 children warned that Yemen’s education crisis is worsening amid rising food and fuel prices and cuts in foreign aid.

Rishana Hanifa, Save the Children’s Country Director in Yemen, cautioned: “Yemeni children are at risk of becoming a lost generation. The longer they stay out of school, the less likely they are to return, pushing them into hazardous work environments and undermining the country’s future recovery.”