Charities and NGOs in Yemen
Yemen is the site of one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with thousands of local and international NGOs operating across emergency food assistance, malnutrition response, healthcare and cholera control, water and sanitation, internally displaced people support, child protection, mine action, and women's protection. Whether you are searching for a comprehensive list of NGOs in Yemen, a Yemeni charity database, an OCHA humanitarian partner directory, or a single verified Yemeni nonprofit to donate to, GiveRadar consolidates official Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor registration data, financial information, news coverage, and an independent integrity score for every Yemeni NGO. Read about how GiveRadar works before you give.
How charities and NGOs are registered in Yemen
Yemeni associations and foundations register with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor under Law No. 1 of 2001 on Associations and Foundations. The law requires registration of governance structures, governing statutes, and annual reports. Charitable foundations also operate under Sharia-aligned waqf frameworks. International NGOs typically register through both governmental coordination bodies and OCHA's humanitarian coordination mechanism. The fragmented authority between de facto authorities in northern Yemen (Sana'a) and the internationally recognized government adds complexity to NGO registration and compliance. Tax exemption follows from registered charitable status under Yemeni law where conditions are met.
Major causes and well-known Yemeni NGOs
The Yemeni nonprofit landscape is dominated by humanitarian response:
- Emergency humanitarian aid: Yemen Red Crescent Society, Yemen Family Care Association (YFCA), Society for Humanitarian Solidarity, and Mona Relief.
- Healthcare: MSF Yemen partner organizations, Save the Children Yemen, and the National Foundation for Combating Cancer.
- Children and protection: SOS Children's Villages Yemen, INTERSOS Yemen partners, and the Yemen Foundation for Child Protection.
- Mine action and survivors: Yemen Executive Mine Action Center partners and HALO Trust Yemen.
- Women and girls: Yemeni Women Union, Sustainable Development Foundation, and various rights-focused networks operating despite difficult conditions.
- Internally displaced people: agencies operating in Marib, Aden, Hodeidah, and Sana'a in coordination with UNHCR and IOM.
- Religion-affiliated welfare: Charitable Society for Social Welfare and Yemeni waqf-based foundations.
Compare two organizations side by side with our charity comparison tool, or browse best disaster relief charities in Yemen and best health charities in Yemen to narrow by cause.
How to evaluate a Yemeni NGO before donating
Yemen presents some of the most challenging diligence conditions in the world. Things to check before giving to any Yemeni NGO:
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor registration: verify with the recognized authority for the area of operation.
- OCHA / UN cluster partner status: a strong indicator of operational capacity and pre-vetting.
- International partnerships: partners of UN agencies, ECHO, USAID, FCDO, or major Western foundations carry the strongest due-diligence assurances.
- Audited financials: where available, particularly for larger national NGOs.
- Sanctions and watchlists: use our free charity checker tool to cross-reference every Yemeni NGO against OFAC, EU, and UN watchlists automatically. Several individuals and entities related to the Yemen conflict are on Western sanctions lists; donor diligence here is especially important.
Each Yemeni NGO profile on GiveRadar combines registration, OCHA partner status, financials, governance, designations, and third-party signals into a single 0-100 integrity score. Read our integrity score methodology for the full weighting.
Yemen NGO explorer: browse, filter, compare
This page works as a Yemen NGO explorer: every registered Yemeni nonprofit we hold data on, ranked and filterable by governorate, cause area, financial transparency, presence of a website, and size. Use the filters on the left to narrow by category (humanitarian, health, children, mine action, women, IDPs, religion, advocacy, and more), and the search bar to find a specific organization by name. The directory updates daily as we ingest new registration data and enrich existing records with contact details, financials, programs, and news coverage. To compare Yemeni giving against other markets, browse all countries or jump straight to disaster relief charities globally.
Donating to charities in Yemen
Direct international donations to Yemeni bank accounts have been complicated by sanctions and correspondent-banking restrictions. The most reliable channels are large international NGOs operating in Yemen (MSF, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, IRC, NRC) and UN appeals (OCHA Yemen Humanitarian Fund, World Food Programme, UNICEF Yemen). For US tax-deductible giving, look for American Friends partners. GiveRadar links to each charity's official donation channel where available and flags fundraising pages that look unverified or potentially fraudulent. For a structured donor walkthrough, read our donor due-diligence guide.