The United States government’s abrupt and irresponsible termination of foreign assistance is putting the health and human rights of millions of people in Yemen who depend on humanitarian aid at risk, Amnesty International said today.
Aid workers described to Amnesty International how President Donald Trump’s decision to cut US aid funding has led to the shut-down of lifesaving assistance and protection services, including malnutrition treatment to children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, safe shelters to survivors of gender-based violence, and healthcare to children suffering from cholera and other illnesses.
Diala Haidar, Amnesty International’s Yemen Researcher said: “The abrupt and irresponsible cuts in US aid will have catastrophic consequences on Yemen’s most vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women and girls, children, and internally displaced people, jeopardizing their safety, dignity, and fundamental human rights,”.
She added: “Unless the US immediately reinstates sufficient funding for lifesaving aid to Yemen and ensures the money is disbursed expeditiously, an already devastating humanitarian situation will further deteriorate and millions of people in Yemen are going to be left without desperately needed support”.
Amnesty International interviewed 10 humanitarian experts and aid workers with direct knowledge of the situation on the ground and six representatives of local human rights organizations, five of which provide direct services to vulnerable groups, all of whom said the impact of the U.S. cuts will be devastating, leading to suffering, death and more instability for an already fragile country. All of those interviewed requested to remain anonymous.
According to experts and aid workers interviewed by Amnesty International, by March 2025, the US aid funding cuts had already forced the shutdown of dozens of safe spaces—designed to prevent or respond to gender-based violence—for women and girls across Yemen. They warned that if funding was not restored, dozens of health facilities and reproductive health and protection clinics would shut down, denying hundreds of thousands of women and girls, including survivors of gender-based violence, access to life-saving healthcare, psychosocial support and legal aid.