Assessing the impact of war in Yemen on achieving the sustainable development goals

The report builds upon previous research, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), exploring the impact of armed conflict on Yemen’s development. The first report, “Assessing the impact of war on development in Yemen”, established a methodological framework to understand the impact of conflict on development in Yemen.

Now in its fifth year, the conflict is characterized by a disproportionately high magnitude of suffering andindirect deaths due to the war’s impacts on access to food, health services, and physical and social infrastructure. The protracted conflict has not only interrupted development in Yemen, it has reversed the country’s hard-won development gains by 21 years.

This report is intended to inform all stakeholders working on Yemen of the alternative development pathway Yemen could have gone through if the war had not occurred. It drills several levels deeper to examine how the conflict is changing development across four SDGs, and explores alternative scenarios reflecting conflict and development pathways. The authors evaluate the impact of conflict in Yemen across four SDGs: No Poverty (SDG 1); Zero Hunger (SDG 2); Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8); and, Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). These SDGs were selected because they reflect core UNDP development priorities.