Nearly two-thirds of children surveyed across four districts in southern Yemen are out of school following more than a decade of conflict and displacement, Save the Children said as the new school year begins.
Waleed*, 17, was displaced with his family from Hodeidah to a camp in 2017. The camp has limited facilities, meaning he will be unable to continue his education this year. Photo by Zaid Shaker/Save the Children
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ADEN, 27 August 2026 – Nearly two-thirds of children surveyed across four districts in southern Yemen are out of school following more than a decade of conflict and displacement, Save the Children said as the new school year begins.
The survey of 2,214 households, conducted across four districts in Aden, Lahj and Taiz governorates, found that about one in three children – 32% - had never enrolled in school, while a further one in four had dropped out and needed urgent support to return. [1]
About a quarter of households in the survey had been displaced, like Waleed*, 17, who fled with his family from his home in Hodeidah to a camp in Lahj in 2017 after years of conflict, repeated shelling, and insecurity.
He said: "We could hear missiles and explosions every day. We watched rockets explode, and the ground shook beneath us."
Forced to leave his home and school aged 8, he struggled to continue his education in temporary learning tents that lacked basic facilities.
After a while Waleed had to drop out of school to help his elderly father earn enough to support the family.
He said: "My family's difficult financial situation meant I had to help my father earn a living. He works as a porter, carrying heavy goods, and because he is getting older, he often needs my help."
With Save the Children support, Waleed returned to school and has now completed Grade 9. However, as the camp he calls home has limited facilities, he will be unable to continue his education this year.
Save the Children’s assessment, involving about 14,000 people including nearly 5,000 children, suggests that the education crisis spanning the entire country is getting worse, as food and fuel costs escalate and cuts to foreign aid impact all aspects of children's lives. The UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen this year said that 6.6 million children – about a third of the total child population – were out of school.
The survey found that nearly one in five cases of school drop-outs were due to child labour, with children sent to work instead of school because their situation was so desperate. Of those surveyed, 92% of households reported not knowing where their next meal would come from while 95% said they relied on daily labour to survive.
Meanwhile, 84% said they were unable to afford education costs like school uniforms and books.
According to UNICEF, 12.5% of children aged 5–14 are engaged in child labour across Yemen, a figure that rises sharply to 15.4% in rural areas. This is often risky work like collecting scrap metal, working in construction or gathering firewood.
Children are forced into work out of desperation, after more than a decade of conflict, economic crisis and climate shocks has left over 22.3 million people in need in Yemen - two thirds of the population - including 12.2 million children.
This is against the backdrop of a funding crisis due to global aid cuts, with the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen last year getting just 25% of the funds needed, forcing programmes to close. Meanwhile, rising food and fuel costs due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a surge in commercial shipping fees have left families struggling to survive.
Meanwhile, over 2,375 schools have been damaged, destroyed or used for military purposes or internal displacement sites, disrupting access to continued learning.
Children are also killed and injured by attacks at or on their way to school – places that should be safe spaces for learning. According to a recent report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, 283 students and teachers were harmed or killed as a result of attacks on education in Yemen between 2024 and 2025 - one of the highest levels globally.
Rishana Haniffa, Country Director for Save the Children in Yemen, said:
“Yemen’s children are at risk of becoming a lost generation. The escalating crisis is pushing them out of classrooms and into dangerous work environments. The longer children are out of school, the less likely it is they will go back, directly impacting Yemen’s ability to rebuild after more than a decade of conflict.
“Sometimes in conflict situations there is such a focus on daily survival that the importance of education gets lost. But education isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a basic human right for every single child in the world. We need increased and sustained humanitarian funding to support families to survive, so that they can send their children to school. Authorities must also restore access to safe, inclusive education.”
Save the Children has been working in Yemen since 1963, implementing programmes in education, child protection, health and nutrition, food security and livelihoods, water and sanitation, and emergency response across most of the country.
ENDS
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[1] Survey available here: Vulnerabilities Assessment & Barriers to Education in Conflict-Affected Communities (Yemen, 2026) | Save the Children’s Resource Centre
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