United for Yemen: Bringing Together European Support to Yemen

Over the past weeks, United for Yemen has brought together stories of people, communities and partnerships across Yemen, and the European support behind them.

United for Yemen comes at a time when people across Yemen continue to face significant challenges. Humanitarian needs remain high, while years of conflict and economic decline have affected public services, livelihoods and families’ ability to cope. At the same time, Yemen’s challenges cannot be addressed through humanitarian assistance alone.

United for Yemen was therefore built around the different dimensions of European engagement in the country, moving from the humanitarian situation and immediate needs to longer-term development, and finally to the broader partnerships that bring these efforts together.

For millions of Yemenis, the impact of years of conflict, displacement and economic hardship is still part of everyday life. Many continue to rely on assistance to meet basic needs. European support continues to play an important role, from food security and healthcare to protection and other essential services.

But after more than a decade of crisis, humanitarian assistance alone is not enough. People also need functioning basic services, reliable access to water, ways to earn a living and opportunities for young people. These are all part of helping families and communities cope with the pressures they face today while building greater resilience for the future.

This is where the different areas of European support come together. A school meal can help a child stay in education, while better water management can help communities cope with increasing pressure on scarce resources. Access to healthcare can protect families at a difficult time, while skills and livelihood opportunities can give young people more choices for their future. These efforts respond to different needs, but together they reflect a shared European commitment to supporting Yemen and its people.

The campaign then brought these different areas together through the humanitarian-development nexus. In Yemen, humanitarian and development needs often exist in the same community and even within the same household. Responding to an immediate need does not remove the need to address the conditions that continue to create vulnerability.

This is where longer-term investments matter. Strengthening services, livelihoods, local capacity and economic opportunities can help communities cope with current pressures while reducing their vulnerability to future shocks.

The final part of the campaign focused on partnership and shared ownership. European engagement in Yemen does not come from one institution or one programme. The European Union and its Member States contribute through different programmes, funding instruments and areas of expertise, working alongside Yemeni institutions, local authorities, civil society organisations, implementing partners and communities. This phase highlighted how these partnerships work in practice, and the role Yemeni partners play in shaping and delivering responses based on local needs and priorities.

Throughout these different phases, the campaign also sought to keep Yemeni people at the centre. Behind the programmes and figures are communities trying to keep schools functioning, manage limited water resources, access healthcare, earn an income and create opportunities despite an extremely difficult environment.

As United for Yemen comes to a close, it leaves a clearer picture of what European engagement in Yemen looks like.

Each EU Member State brings its own experience and partnerships to Yemen. Their work may take different forms and respond to different needs, but together they reflect a wider European commitment to the country and its people.

This is at the heart of the Team Europe approach: bringing together different contributions around shared priorities, while recognising the distinct role each Member State and partner plays.

United for Yemen has helped make these connections more visible - not as separate efforts, but as part of a broader partnership with Yemen and its people.