Pray for Yemen

This article was originally published November 2017. Current estimates suggest that 85,000 children have died from acute malnutrition, and millions are on the brink of famine.

On the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula lies Yemen, a land of ancient cities and beautiful landscapes. The country boasts a long history of trade in frankincense and myrrh, and it is a source of premium coffee beans.

But Yemen is also one of the poorest countries in the Arab world and has faced decades of instability. Since 2015, civil war has gripped the country and left the people in dire need of humanitarian aid.

At the center of the conflict are the Houthi rebels fighting against forces allied with President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Early on, the Houthis advanced and took control of key cities. In response, Saudi Arabia and several other Arab states formed a coalition and began air strikes against the rebels.

Since then, the crisis has spiraled and fighting has engulfed the entire country. More than 8,000 Yemenis have been killed and almost 50,000 injured in the conflict. Tens of thousands of children have died of starvation. Millions more are at risk, facing shortages of food and water. Less than half the country’s health facilities are functional.

Intensifying the people’s suffering is the coalition’s closure of Yemeni air, land, and sea routes in 2017. This blockade was put into place to stem the flow of arms into the country after the Houthis fired a missile at the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Shutting down Yemen’s ports, however, has also blocked deliveries of food, medicine, and aid. Millions of people are facing malnutrition, starvation, and one of the world’s worst cholera outbreaks.