Save the Children (Yemen)

Save the Children was the first international NGO to register in Yemen and has since then had a consistent presence in the country. Initially involved mainly in health work such as vaccination campaigns and building hospitals.

In 1963, SC (Save the Children) Northern Yemen received a proposal from Engineer Tage Gustafsson, who was working as technical director for the inbound flights of Yemen and was seeking SC’s assistance in a vaccination campaign against TB for children. On 2 September 1963, 2 Swedish nurses arrived in Taiz to implement the campaign and it was SC’s first historical grant was 100,000 SEK.

In April 1964, SC gave another 250,000 SEK to continue the activity in Yemen for one more year.  The activity was going to be extended, with the first support to the establishment of a child hospital in Taiz with 25 beds, employment of 1 more nurse, creating a Yemen Committee, training of Yemeni staff. 

The child hospital opened in the first day of December – with the same staff to preventive child health care including vaccinations, health instruction to mothers, and distribution of milk etc. clinical activities, child hospital and training of local medical staff. In 1965, SCS decided to extend the activity in Yemen with medical treatment and supervision of people who have leprosy in Taiz. SC contributed with 100,000 SEK for medicine.