Until now, whatever we’ve heard, seen, or read about Gaza’s children, the reality on the ground is far worse than we could ever imagine. The situation for Gaza’s civilians, especially its children, is beyond heartbreaking. The Israeli army has created a reality so devastating that today, children are choosing death over life.

Yes, what you’ve read is true. 

A survey conducted among 500 children in Gaza revealed harrowing results: nearly 96% of them feel that death is near and that it’s only a matter of time before they lose their lives. Out of these, 49% openly expressed that they would rather embrace death than continue to endure the horrors of war, constant displacement, and unending famine.

These children are exhausted—worn down by a war they never asked for, by the loss of their homes and families, and by the unbearable hunger and fear that haunt their every moment. To them, death feels like a release, an escape from a life that offers only pain and suffering.

Israel Shows No Signs of Stopping

Recently, on December 13, 2024, an airstrike targeted a post office where people were taking shelter, killing 30 civilians and leaving over 50 seriously injured. The Israeli army continues its assaults as if the lives of Gaza’s civilians hold no value in this world.

The way people are being killed is so brutal that even animals wouldn’t be treated this way. The constant violence and fear of death have plunged the people of Gaza into a state of severe fear, aggression, withdrawal, and overwhelming hopelessness.

Reports further reveal that families with disabled, injured, or unaccompanied children are suffering the most. Such circumstances exist because the pain and suffering of the people of Gaza seem endless. One tragedy barely ends before another begins, yet another disaster strikes before that can settle.

According to a survey, 88% of Gaza’s population has been displaced multiple times, with 21% displaced six or more times. This relentless cycle of loss and upheaval has taken a severe toll on their mental health. Fear grips their minds, constant displacement and hunger torment them, and these hardships are having a devastating impact on innocent children and their families.

Many have reached their breaking point, worn down to the extent that they have lost the will to live, with countless children and adults alike longing for death as an escape from this unbearable reality.

The Women are suffering

The situation for women in Gaza, especially pregnant women, is even more dire than that of the children. Currently, there are 73,000 pregnant women in Gaza, and if you didn’t already know, over 63 multi-specialty hospitals have been destroyed. As for smaller clinics and basic healthcare facilities, their condition is beyond deplorable.

These women lack adequate nutrition, essential medicines, and even access to clean air. The fear and stress of war have worsened their conditions significantly. A critical question looms over Gaza: how will these women deliver their babies? And if they do, how will these newborns receive the care they need in a medical system that has been obliterated?

An estimated 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers are struggling to access even basic maternal and newborn healthcare. Preterm and complicated births have increased, and healthcare workers report that among the 130 women giving birth daily, healthy-weight babies are rarely seen anymore.

Even necessities like sanitary pads, essential medicines, and protein supplements are unavailable. Aid is blocked at the borders, over 600 water wells have been deliberately destroyed, and in the cruelest of ironies, people are now forced to loot for food to survive.

Economically, the devastation is staggering. Most families in Gaza survive on just £3.28 ($4.15) daily, with 80% of breadwinners unemployed. In a shocking revelation, 24% of families surveyed are headed by children as young as 16 or younger.

The women of Gaza, especially those carrying the next generation, are fighting not just for survival but for basic dignity in a world that seems to have turned its back on them.

What Next for Children and Women in Gaza?

The international community must act immediately before the catastrophic effects on Gaza’s children become irreversible. Surveys already indicate that the damage has been done. If immediate action is not taken, these children will struggle to grow mentally and emotionally. 

They will remain trapped in their painful memories, unable to heal, and this trauma will inevitably impact future generations, affecting their lives and even their health. In this way, entire generations risk being wiped out, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.

A ceasefire must be the first step to allow organizations like War Child and other humanitarian agencies to address the severe psychological damage Gaza’s children are enduring. 

The CTCCM and War Child Alliance have urged the international community to prioritize mental health interventions and provide urgent humanitarian assistance for the children of Gaza. They have emphasized that addressing the root causes of this crisis is critical to preventing further harm to future generations.

For women, the need for immediate humanitarian aid is equally dire. Without aid, not only will babies die, but their mothers will also succumb to the lack of proper medical care and essential supplies. The spread of disease will only worsen the situation, leaving Gaza in an even deeper humanitarian crisis.

A ceasefire is not just necessary—it is the only option left to save Gaza from complete annihilation. It is the bare minimum required to ensure its people’s survival and give them a chance to rebuild their lives and future.

Education is the most basic right of every child. But for a staggering 224 million out of school children, education is a luxury they can’t afford.

That’s why, through this article, we are debunking the false mirage of all the “development in educational” and shedding light on:

• The current status of such millions of out-of-school children
•  Major driving forces behind the education crisis globally
•  Potential solutions

244 Million Out of School Children Globally

In 2022, a UNSECO report displayed that over 244 million children and youth between 6 and 18 won’t start a new school year, with the most out-of-school children in the Sub-Saharn region (98 million).

Research has shown that children are the first to bear the brunt in today’s war-torn world and calamities heightened by skyrocketing inflation and extreme climate events.

Though the numbers have come down after the sharp COVID-19 (290 million), the current wars, inflation, and climate change have left aid organizations responsible for financing universal education without sufficient funds.

Throughout the globe, there are various factors causing children to drop out of school, with some countries being hit harder than others. Nigeria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, in particular, are grappling with a staggering increase in the number of out-of-school children, largely due to the following underlying reasons.

High Inflation – Low Economic Safety

For parents unsure, if they’ll have a next meal, sending children to school is the last thing on their minds. For example, over 80 million people in Nigeria live below the poverty line. This has led the country to one of the worst national education crises.

“I miss my teacher, friends, and all my schoolmates.”

10-years old Treasure, Nigeria (source: Frace 24 English)

Security threats, extreme poverty, and lack of public schools contribute to Nigeria’s education catastrophe. Like Treasure, 20 million Nigerian children are out of school, making them highly vulnerable to child labor, abuse, and underage marriages.

8-Year Long Civil War

In Yemen, out-of-school children are at increased risk of exploitation – being forced into civil war (child soldiers), early marriages, and child labor.

Mansour, a 16-years old boy, broke his spine in an accident at work in 2019 and has been unable to walk since. Once, Mansour went to school, studied, and regularly met his friends. Now, he is completely dependent on his mother for everything.

And Mansour is not alone.

Yemen’s war has forced 2 million children out of school, wrecking their future. Moreover, 3.7 million Yemen students consistently miss school due to the withholding of teachers’ salaries (almost 2-3rd of Yemen’s teachers have not received their salary in seven years).

Taliban Takeover

Since Taliba’s takeover in 2021, Afghan women over the age of 12 have been banned from school. With the new academic year starting in March, hundreds of thousands of teenage girls remain barred from classes.

Today, 80% of Afghan girls and young women (2.5 million) are banned from school. Out of which 30% have never even gained a primary education.

Despite repeated claims of reopening schools and universities for women, the Taliban (the de facto government) has failed to follow through. The group made similar claims during its previous rule from 1996 to 2001, but the girls were banned throughout the five-year rule.

“(the ban)takes away their ability to participate in their community in a way where they can ultimately have jobs, become doctors or teachers.”

Catherine Russell, Unicef (Source: al Jazeera) 

While the international community has made the right to women’s education the critical condition for aid negotiation, the Taliban is only giving empty promises in return.

Can Out of the School Children Crisis be Solved?

The out-of-school children problem is multifaceted and diverse. Almost every country’s fraction of students don’t go to school, but the numbers are significantly high in war-torn and under-developed countries. Even for students who are going to school, the quality of education and learning opportunities in such countries is vastly different.

According to a recent study by the world bank, these children are at the Irish of losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings. And unless actions are taken, learning losses will continue to endanger the future of these children, nations, and the world.

Experts advise that providing school meals to students will encourage poverty-ridden families to send their children to school for food. But this will need funding from international governments and organizations.

Education- A Fundamental Right

The world has come a long way in making education a fundamental right. From only 1 out of every ten literate individuals two centuries ago to today’s 9 in 10 adults with essential reading and writing skills – we’ve made progress.

But, to tackle the current and looming world problems in the 21st century and beyond, we’ll need a strong team of educated people. It’s hard to imagine that even today, millions of children are growing up without the opportunity for education that we had. But the reality remains the same.

So, yes, we’ve come a long way, but a lot of work is still left to make education a fundamental right for every child globally.

Yemen has been experiencing an armed conflict and humanitarian crisis since 2015, with seven brutal years of pain, fear, bloodshed and death. This article provides an update on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as of February 2023.

Background to Yemen’s Humanitarian Catastrophe

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Houthi insurgents—Shiite rebels with links to Iran and a history of rising against the Sunni government—took control of Yemen’s capital and largest city, Sana’a, demanding lower fuel prices and a new government.

Two-thirds of the Yemini Population is in Need of Humanitarian Assistance

As of February 2023, two-thirds of the Yemeni population requires humanitarian assistance. The “Houthis” forces backed by Iran, the Saudi/UAE-led coalition, the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and UAE-backed forces, including the Southern Transitional Council (STC), have failed to spare Yemeni civilians grave human rights violations.

There has been a flagrant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law protections. Thus, the war has resulted in continuous incidents of abuse that have killed and injured thousands of civilians.

Nearly six million Yemenis are displaced from their homes since the beginning of the war, including 4.3 million internally displaced inside Yemen.

So far, there are no signs of the war stopping soon.

Parties to the War Responsible For Grave Human Rights Violations

Parties to the conflict in Yemen continue to commit grave human rights violations. According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch, the clashes between forces have led to continuous unlawful and indiscriminate airstrikes against civilians.

Houthi forces have used banned antipersonnel landmines and fired artillery indiscriminately into populated areas. Moreover, Houthi forces have launched indiscriminate ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia.

Read more: Children’s Rights in Yemen Are Teetering on the Edge of A Catastrophe.

Failed Truce in April 2022

An UN-mediated truce entered force on April 2nd 2022. The truce lasted six months, ending on October 2nd 2022. However, human rights violations continued, and the truce failed as parties broke the agreement with continued fighting and hostilities.

All parties to the conflict failed to protect innocent civilians’ lives. The truce in Yemen ended as both sides rejected a proposal presented by UN Special Envoy for Yemen to extend and expand the agreement.

However, on a brighter note, the truce brought noticeable tangible benefits to the Yemeni population. For example, access to humanitarian aid improved, and widespread economic opportunities became more readily available. Furthermore, there was a considerable decrease in violence and casualties across Yemen. A report by ACLED revealed the lowest number of reported political violence-related deaths in Yemen since January 2015. 

These noticeable and valuable improvements should not ignore that political violence continued in Yemen despite the truce. Worringly, 200 people died every month during the truce due to political violence.

20 Million Yeminis’ Face Food Insecurity

The humanitarian crisis hit a dangerously dire point in 2022 due to constant obstruction of aid from reaching civilians. Houthi forces and the Yemeni government continue unnecessarily imposing restrictions and regulations on humanitarian organizations and aid projects.

Moreover, enforced disappearances are a massive problem in Yemen, with little accountability or investigations. In addition, the economy’s collapse, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led to Yemen being one of the world’s most unsettling humanitarian disasters.

More than 20 million Yemenis are facing food insecurity and have little to no access to health care services. The war has resulted in deliberate unlawful attacks against civilian homes, hospitals, schools, and bridges. For years, these war crimes have continued with impunity.

Read more: Yemen: War crimes hidden behind rampant violations.

FSO Safer Threatened a Humanitarian and Environmental Catastrophe

The FSO Safer is a “ticking time bomb”, holding an estimated 1.14 million barrels of light crude oil. Since 2015, the Safer has been stranded off the coast of Yemen.

Yemen’s national oil company owns the FSO. Due to the Yemen war, all production and export operations related to FSO are suspended. However, millions of barrels of crude oil remain onboard.

The ongoing crisis in Yemen has made the Safer too dangerous to move. According to the UN, the Safer could explode or rupture anytime, threatening an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe. This dire situation could quickly become one of the worst oil spills in history, devastating Yemen and the environment. Luckily, a two-stage UN-coordinated plan to prevent the Safer from exploding or breaking apart was initiated in March 2022.

In September 2022, the UN stated it had raised sufficient funds to initiate a four-month-long operation to transfer oil from the Safer to a secure vessel. Following this first step, a second stage will involve installing a replacement vessel within 18 months. The rescue mission is estimated to cost up to $115 million for both stages.

However, despite these initiated plans,  recent efforts to rescue the Safer have been unsuccessful due to the region’s ongoing conflict.

Yemini Women’s and Girl’s Rights Under Threat

The Houthi rebels continue discriminating against girls and women and restricting their freedom and rights. There have been significant systematic violations of women’s and girls’ rights. The de facto law in Houthi-controlled areas requires women to travel with a mahram (a close male relative or their husband). In addition, evidence of written permission from their male guardian will also suffice.

Women’s access to healthcare services, particularly reproductive healthcare, have severely limited since the war began. Furthermore, women’s dress code, access to education and freedom of expression is severely controlled and limited by men.

Concluding Thoughts

The eight-year war in Yemen has caused immense suffering, and a recent UNDP report estimated that the number of those killed due to Yemen’s war could reach 1.3 million by 2030. Furthermore, the death toll from Yemen’s war is estimated to reach 377,000 by the end of 2021. To put matters into perspective, an estimated 70% of those killed will be children under the age of five years.

The evidence discussed in this article reveals alarming discoveries which must be addressed immediately. Mainly associated with girls’ and women’s rights, environmental threats, food insecurities and an increased number of civilians needing humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, an increasingly worsening economy, decimated public infrastructure, and a year-on-year decline in humanitarian funding have put Yemenis’ lives under direct threat.

The situation in Yemen is a complex protection crisis at its very core. Many Yemenis struggle to live in safety and dignity and enjoy basic fundamental rights or access to essential services. 

This worrying reality must be addressed and changed in 2023 with more focused attention on protecting and upholding human rights for everyone.