Living in Yemen's "devastating" civil war

Living in Yemen's "Devastating" Civil War | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Life is very hard today in Yemen, the country with the worst humanitarian crisis you may not have heard about lately.

UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly paints a grim picture of destroyed infrastructure and people scared of moving around. There are so many landmines, he says, that many Yemenis stay away from health clinics and schools because they fear being killed or maimed.

And every year the war drags on, it gets worse.

For Gressly, the average Yemeni cannot get basic services from any of the two rival governments. They are too busy fighting each other, and wouldn't have the resources anyway.

Yemen, he says, is (barely) running on an annual $2 billion in international assistance, but even that won't be enough very soon. The value of the local currency has plummeted so much and logistics become so complicated due to the war that the cost of food has skyrocketed.

That's why the UN is now asking for $3.6 billion to fund their operations in Yemen in 2022. If that target is not met, Gressly warns Yemenis will start to go hungry and hospitals won't be able to treat patients — which will kill as many people as lack of food.

Watch his interview with Ian Bremmer in the upcoming episode of GZERO World.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Following a terrorist attack in Kashmir last spring, India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, exchanged military strikes in an alarming escalation. Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Khar joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to discuss Pakistan’s perspective in the simmering conflict.

- YouTube

A military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May nearly pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict, one of the most contentious and bitter rivalries in the world.

A combination picture shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

In negotiations, the most desperate party rarely gets the best terms. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska today to discuss ending the Ukraine War, their diverging timelines may shape what deals emerge – if any.