Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
Japan at an event in Riyadh on Monday finalized an agreement to grant 642 million yen ($4.29 million) to improve children’s education in Yemen.
The two-year project will prioritize rehabilitating educational infrastructure and providing psychosocial support in Yemen’s Taiz Governorate.
The agreement was signed by Yoichi Nakashima, Japan’s ambassador to Yemen, and Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative in Yemen.
The ceremony was also attended by Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan and Yemeni Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mustafa Noman.
In a speech Nakashima underscored the urgency of the initiative, stating that the ongoing war in Yemen has created a dire humanitarian situation, leaving nearly 3.2 million children unable to attend school.
He added that their project targets those outside the formal system while supporting facility rehabilitation and teacher training.
He emphasized that Taiz’s families are “deeply committed to learning despite years of instability,” noting the region’s historical significance as a cultural and academic hub.
Yemen suffers from a general decline in the educational level, where most schools are experiencing a shortage of teachers who have left to seek other means of livelihood due to the interruption of their salaries since the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2015.
The governorates controlled by the legitimate government were not immune, as they also suffered from salary interruptions due to the general economic deterioration of the country, in addition to the decline in the value of the national currency, where teachers’ wage rates reached less than $50 per month.
