The fighting in Yemen has lasted since the transfer of power from the autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in 2011. The handover was supposed to bring stability after the Arab Spring uprising, but it failed. President Hadi was unable to deal with the attacks by jihadists, the separatist movement in the south, corruption, unemployment, and food insecurity. The Houthi movement, championing Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslim minority, used the president's weakness to take control of the northern heartland of the Saada province and neighboring areas. Ordinary Yemenis, which included Sunnis, supported the Houthis, and this enabled them to eventually take over Yemen's capital Sanaa in late 2014 and early 2015. Hadi fled the country in March 2015. Military units loyal to the Saleh aligned themselves with the Houthi Other militia forces allied against them and fought with the military that remained loyal to Hadi's government.
A coalition by Saudia Arabia and Sunni-majoirity regions are supporting the government in the civil war. This coalition receive support from US, UK, and France. The coalition landed on ground in August 2015 and helped drive Houthi forces out of majority of the southern region. Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes that have killed or maimed thousands of citizens in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is armed with US and British warplanes, so their air force and its allies have complete air superiority in the skies of Yemen. In August 2018, a laser-guided bomb hit a school bus in the Houthi controlled north and killed 40 schoolboys who ranged from the ages 6 to 11.
Children are killed or maimed during these attacks and air strikes. Schools and hospitals have been forced to shut down, causing a disruption in access to education and health services. Children are more vulnerable to diseases and are no longer guaranteed a future. Children are now suffering from malnutrition, and these problems have only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.