Because of the project, water is now available to around 7,000 residents. The 12,000-meter-long network – built by 10 members of the local community through cash-for-work – is now triple the original length.

UNDP's Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Programme (YECRP) – in partnership with the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) – has been diligently working with our local partner, the Small and Micro Enterprise Service (SMEPS), to keep businesses in the livestock sector going. Our efforts have dramatically changed Zara’a’s and others lives for the better.

In Yemen, women UN Volunteers are stepping up to the many challenges during the pandemic. They are on the frontlines of response despite many hurdles – including gender stereotypes, risks caused by years of conflict, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women.

I want Yemen’s women to no longer be afraid to be themselves - to access more opportunities, to speak up without being told otherwise.

For the first time, there are 10 women among the 60 trainees on Non-Technical Survey (NTS) of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs). With these vital new skills, trainees will be able to provide reliable information about the exact whereabouts of mines and unexploded ordnances in contaminated areas.

I consider it a challenge because it challenges my destiny for not only me, but for my family too.

Challenges bring out the best in us and push us to the limit so we know of what we are capable. Once we figure our strength, the journey to achieve begins.

“Being featured in the BBC list of 100 Most Influential Women for 2020 gives great pride to me, my business partners, and Yemen as a whole,” says Iman, a solar power plant manager from Abss, Yemen.

Yemeni women should be given equal chances in the community and most importantly they should be offered the trust of their communities.

My hope is to see Yemen move from a humanitarian crisis toward sustainable development through the collective contribution of all Yemenis – especially women.