Impact of War | The Pardee Center and UNDP Yemen meet in Denver to reflect on three joint reports detailing the impact of conflict on human development in Yemen

In April 2019, the first of three joint reports, Assessing the Impact of War on Development in Yemen, by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Yemen and the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures (Pardee Center), revealed that the war had already set back development by more than two decades and caused more deaths from indirect causes such as hunger and disease than deaths from conflict-related violence. In fact, findings indicated that the indirect causes of conflict were responsible for killing one child every 12 minutes in 2019. The second report, Assessing the Impact of War in Yemen on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), released in September 2019, explored policy interventions during and after conflict and concluded that the war must be ended before Yemen may resume a positive development trajectory. Released in November 2021, the third and final report of the Impact of War trilogy series, Assessing the Impact of War in Yemen: Pathways for Recovery, explores post-conflict recovery and finds that war has continued to devastate the country; the conflict’s death toll has already grown 60 per cent since 2019. However, if a sustainable and implementable peace deal can be reached, there is still hope for a brighter future in Yemen.

The Pardee Center welcomed its UNDP partners for a series of events reflecting upon these three reports and focused on sharing findings with the broader University of Denver and Colorado community. These events included the following:

• Panel Discussion and Documentary Screening: The documentary was developed by UNDP Yemen and is called From Yemen With Love. Panelists included:
  • Auke Lootsma, Resident Representative, UNDP Yemen Country Office
  • David Gressly, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen
  • Jeehan Abdulghaffar, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank, Korbel School alumna
• Report Presentation and Panel Discussion: Senior Research Associate and Report Lead Author Taylor Hannah presented report findings, there was a panel discussion with the above guests, and welcoming remarks were provided by University of Denver Chancellor Haefner.