How You Can Help Yemen

Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, is descending deeper into chaos by the hour. Humanitarian needs were massive in the country even before the political unrest and violence began to unfold in recent months.

With the upsurge in violence, there are reports of displacement and shortages of basic goods. Aid agencies continue to be hard at work in Yemen. But will they have the resources to carry out their relief missions in the short and long-term? Typically, many humanitarian operations in Yemen have been underfunded despite the fact the country has a high rate of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

Here is what you can do to help aid agencies working in Yemen. Even a donation of a dollar can buy several servings of a food like plumpynut, which can save a child in Yemen from deadly malnutrition. Here is a list of some aid agencies at work in Yemen.

The United Nations World Food Programme: The UN food agency has faced massive shortages of funding in recent years, causing some programs in Yemen to stop entirely. You can donate to support WFP at the World Food Program USA .

UNICEF: You can contact this organization about donations to help Yemen at UNICEF.org or UNICEFUSA.org . See an article about UNICEF delivering vital plumpynut to save Yemeni children.

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen: The International Red Cross is facing severe funding shortages globally. They are hard at work in Yemen, especially during the recent violence. You can donate to the Red Cross here. In a recent statement the organization said:

"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is alarmed by the escalating violence and is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation as dozens of people have been injured or killed.

"The consequences, in humanitarian terms, are becoming more serious by the day," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen. "Hundreds of civilians have found themselves caught in the crossfire, and dozens of people on all sides have been injured or killed in fighting in Hasaba, in the northern part of Sana'a. In Taiz and Abyan the situation is getting worse as the fighting intensifies."

Save the Children: You can contact Save the Children at their web site . Ask about donating to help Yemen. You can read about their latest food voucher program and also read about their work in Yemen in an interview published last year.

See also the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees .

These are some of the agencies working in Yemen to help the suffering people. You can also write to your representatives in government and ask them to prioritize humanitarian needs in their policy making.

Read a Yemen Times article about hunger and malnutrition.