LDS Charities Providing Food and Water to People in Yemen

The people of Yemen have been disrupted by a civil war for nearly four years. The prolonged conflict collapsed access to life-sustaining resources such as running water, food and medical care. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls the present conditions in Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Over the past 18 months, LDS Charities’ efforts in Yemen have blessed the lives of nearly 350,000 people. The Church’s humanitarian approach has been multi-faceted, increasing access to clean water, feeding the hungry and providing medical supplies and equipment.

LDS Charities has partnered with multiple humanitarian groups to bring clean water to the Yemeni people, including the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), CARE International, UNICEF USA and Rahma Relief Foundation.

With these partners, the Church is repairing water distribution points and distributing chlorine tablets so people can access safe water. The charity’s partnership with ADRA alone has established 32 separate water distribution points.

Hundreds of other people are being served by portable water trucks, driven by Rahma Relief Foundation workers in the most vulnerable areas of Yemen where families can fill their jerrycans with clean water.

With access to clean water, families can avoid drinking contaminated water and can stop the spread of diseases like cholera.

Food shortages in Yemen have put the country on the brink of famine. Yemenis are facing severe food insecurity and nearly 2 million children are acutely malnourished.

UNICEF reports that because many of Yemen’s major ports were blocked in December 2018, food imports were at the lowest level since July 2016. Food prices have risen by 98 percent in the last three years.

Working with various partners—UNICEFUSA, the World Food Program (WFP), CARE International and Rahma Relief Foundation—the Church is providing food to Yemenis in need. WFP is bringing in food from nearby countries and UNICEF USA is distributing life-saving food to severely malnourished children.