A charity called Save the Children announced on Monday that about 4.5 million children in Yemen are not attending school, nearly ten years after the country’s bloody war began.
The number highlights how unstable daily living is in the poorest nation on the Arabian Peninsula, despite a relative calm following a ceasefire in April 2022.
“Two in five children, or 4.5 million, are out of school, with displaced children twice as likely to drop out than their peers,” the organisation stated in its report.
“One third of families surveyed in Yemen have at least one child who has dropped out of school in the past two years despite the UN-brokered truce,” it stated.
After Iran-backed Huthi rebels took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, Saudi Arabia led a coalition to support the internationally recognised government a few months later, sparking the start of the country’s conflict.
What Is The Opinion Of Charity Organization About Children Missing School?
According to the charity, the conflict has caused economic instability, pushing nearly 4.5 million people from their homes and pushing two thirds of Yemen’s 33 million citizens below the poverty line.
According to Save the them, “displaced children are twice as vulnerable to school dropouts.”
“Nine years into this forgotten conflict, we are facing an unprecedented education emergency,” stated Mohammed Manna, the acting country director for Save the Children in Yemen.
“Our latest findings must be a wake-up call and we must act now to protect these children and their future.”
According to the report, 14% of the families the aid organisation spoke with claimed that their children’s dropout was due to insecurity.
However, a greater majority—roughly 44%—cited financial justifications, notably the necessity of sustaining family incomes. Twenty percent or so said they couldn’t afford the normal costs of education.
“The impact of the education crisis on Yemen’s children and their future is profound,” the organisation stated.
“Without immediate intervention, an entire generation risks being left behind.”
