Mission
Yemen Al-Khair Foundation for Relief and Development (YARD) is a national humanitarian and development organization committed to supporting vulnerable populations affected by conflict, displacement, natural hazards, and socio-economic challenges across Yemen. Through its field-based approach, YARD contributes to reducing humanitarian needs, strengthening community resilience, and promoting sustainable development solutions.
YARD’s humanitarian journey began in 2010 through voluntary initiatives and community-based assistance activities. In 2013, the Foundation obtained its official registration from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, establishing the foundation for structured humanitarian operations and expanding its engagement with local stakeholders and community actors.
Between 2013 and 2016, YARD successfully implemented a range of community-based projects in partnership with local organizations, demonstrating its operational capacity, accountability, and commitment to delivering effective assistance to vulnerable communities. In 2017, YARD expanded its partnerships by becoming eligible to collaborate with international donors and United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Over subsequent years, YARD strengthened its institutional partnerships, expanding collaboration with key humanitarian actors, including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). By 2020, YARD had established partnerships with five United Nations agencies, alongside several international non-governmental organizations and private-sector institutions.
In 2025, YARD further expanded its portfolio through a new partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), marking an important step toward strengthening its engagement in agriculture, food security, and livelihood development initiatives.
Today, YARD delivers integrated humanitarian and development programs across multiple sectors, including:
- Protection
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
- Education
- Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL)
- Health and Nutrition
- Shelter and Non-Food Items (S/NFI)
- Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM)
- Agriculture and livelihood development
- Economic empowerment and capacity building
- Peacebuilding
- Protection and rehabilitation of historical sites and cultural heritage assets
YARD maintains a strong field presence and prioritizes timely, principled, and needs-based humanitarian action. The Foundation has implemented interventions across several governorates, including Al-Jawf, Hadramout, Shabwah, Al-Mahrah, Aden, Dhamar, and other priority areas, supporting internally displaced persons, conflict-affected communities, and vulnerable households in line with humanitarian principles, international standards, and identified needs.
Through localization, accountable programming, and close engagement with communities and authorities, YARD continues to strengthen its role as a reliable national partner in humanitarian response, resilience-building, and sustainable development in Yemen.
At Yemen Al-Khair for Relief and Development (YARD), resilience-building in Yemen’s protracted crisis is anchored in locally led action, rigorous evidence, and sustained community engagement. In a context defined by climate shocks and displacement, effective risk reduction must be both technically sound and locally owned.
In early 2024, YARD, in partnership with UNDRR, UNHCR, and the Yemen Shelter/CCCM Cluster, conducted multi-governorate flood vulnerability assessments across displacement sites in Sana’a, Ibb, Hajjah, Al-Jawf, and Sa’ada. The analysis revealed systemic gaps in risk mitigation, notably the absence of functional drainage infrastructure, the proliferation of shelters in high-risk flood zones, and the lack of early warning systems and evacuation planning.
Leveraging strategic support from UNDRR, YARD transitioned from assessment to action by integrating eco-disaster risk reduction (eco-DRR) and nature-based solutions into its operational model. This approach enabled the organization to address immediate exposure to flood hazards while strengthening longer-term climate resilience in highly vulnerable, conflict-affected settings.
A flagship intervention was implemented at Al-Mahzam Al-Sharqi IDP site in Al-Hazm District, Al-Jawf, where YARD designed and constructed a 2.5-kilometre engineered flood diversion channel. The structure effectively redirects surface runoff away from densely populated areas into natural waterways, significantly reducing flood risk.
Sustainability considerations were embedded throughout the intervention. The channel was reinforced using locally sourced stone to mitigate erosion while preserving the natural gradient to ensure efficient water flow. Complementary earthen and stone bunds were constructed to further channel floodwaters away from shelters, enhancing the durability and effectiveness of the solution over time.
Across Al-Jawf, YARD scaled up integrated shelter interventions, including transitional shelter construction, rehabilitation of flood-damaged housing, and preventive maintenance of critical shelter infrastructure. All activities were implemented in close coordination with local authorities, site management actors, and affected communities, ensuring alignment with local priorities and operational realities.
Central to this approach is the principle of community ownership. YARD established and capacitated community-based risk reduction committees, equipping them with practical skills in early warning dissemination, participatory hazard mapping, and maintenance of mitigation assets. These structures play a critical role in sustaining outcomes and reinforcing accountability at the community level.
These interventions are not technologically complex; however, they are deliberately designed to be context-appropriate, cost-efficient, and operationally scalable. They demonstrate that effective risk reduction in Yemen is best achieved through pragmatic, locally led solutions that bridge immediate humanitarian needs with long-term resilience objectives.
No results found.
Voluntary Commitments
The Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments (SFVC) online platform allows stakeholders to inform the public about their work on DRR. The SFVC online platform is a useful toolto know who is doing what and where for the implementation of the Sendai Framework, which could foster potential collaboration among stakeholders. All stakeholders (private sector, civil society organizations, academia, media, local governments, etc.) working on DRR can submit their commitments and report on their progress and deliverables.