Yemen

Major funding cuts and shrinking humanitarian access are pushing Yemen closer to a catastrophic health and hunger crisis, with aid organizations warning that millions of people are at immediate risk due to aid agencies' inability to provide lifesaving support. These warnings come as Yemen continues to suffer from one of the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crises.

Acute food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain alarmingly high and deeply entrenched across the world, with crises increasingly concentrated in a core group of countries, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), which was released on Friday. The 2026 edition of the GRFC shows that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines being declared last year — the first time this has happened in the report's ten-year history.

The United Nations and its humanitarian partners issued the 2026 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) on Wednesday, calling for US$2.16 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 12 million people across Yemen. In 2026, 22.3 million women, men, and children require humanitarian aid and protection as the country grapples with the region's most severe hunger emergency.

At a time of severe cuts to the global body’s humanitarian work in emergencies and “soaring” needs, the UN’s relief chief has condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war roiling Iran and the wider Middle East. On Wednesday in Geneva, he spoke about his efforts to reach 87 million people with life-saving aid, for which US$23 billion is urgently needed.

Amid the country's protracted political, security, and humanitarian crises, the United Nations envoy for Yemen, stressed the urgent need on Thursday to relaunch a comprehensive and inclusive political process to achieve a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Briefing the UN Security Council, Hans Grundberg also expressed serious concerns about the continued detention of UN staff and other personnel by the Houthi de facto authorities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched its 2026 Global Health Emergency Appeal on Tuesday to ensure that millions of people living in humanitarian crises and conflicts have access to healthcare. The appeal seeks nearly US$1 billion to respond to 36 emergencies worldwide, including the world’s most severe crises, ranging from sudden-onset to protracted crises where health needs are critical.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that Yemenis are silently suffering from hunger and malnourishment amid a severe lack of funding and ongoing insecurity that are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. Yemen is one of the most food-insecure countries in the world and now has the highest number of people facing emergency levels of hunger.

The United Nations and its aid partners launched their 2026 global humanitarian appeal on Monday to raise a total of US$33 billion to support 135 million people in need through 23 country operations and six plans for refugees and migrants. The appeal aims to save millions of lives in some of the world's most crisis-stricken regions, including those affected by war, hunger, climate disasters, earthquakes, and epidemics.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that the global hunger crisis is deepening. The organization expects 318 million people to face crisis-level hunger or worse next year — more than double the number in 2019. However, the world's response remains "slow, fragmented, and underfunded."

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Joyce Msuya, the deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), delivered a blunt warning: armed conflict is driving the world’s most severe hunger crises, and without decisive political action, famine conditions will worsen in several regions. Msuya stressed that today's hunger is overwhelmingly human-made.

A new United Nations report warns that acute food insecurity is worsening in 16 hunger hotspots across the globe, which threatens to push millions more people into famine or risk of famine, with time running out to avert widespread starvation. The report identifies armed conflict and violence, economic collapse, climate extremes, and an unprecedented decline in humanitarian funding as the main drivers of acute hunger.

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2025, published on Thursday, paints a bleak picture of the world's progress towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of achieving zero hunger by 2030. With at least 56 countries projected to miss the low hunger threshold, and 42 currently experiencing serious or alarming levels of hunger, the report emphasizes the need for renewed commitment and urgent action.

The United Nations' top humanitarian official issued a blunt warning on Monday about a mounting "age of indifference" as funding for essential aid programs continues to dwindle. Addressing journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted a critical shortfall in resources and the escalating threats facing humanitarian workers worldwide.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is spiraling out of control, with a staggering number of people facing hunger, including extreme conditions, and the United Nations’ ability to deliver aid severely hampered by ongoing conflict, funding shortages, and arbitrary detentions. This was the stark warning delivered on Monday by UN relief chief Tom Fletcher during a briefing to the UN Security Council.

Children from displaced families are dying of starvation in parts of Yemen, according to the United Nations, as extreme hunger and malnutrition take hold. Over 17 million people in Yemen are acutely food insecure, a figure expected to surpass 18 million by February 2026 amid a critical crisis in humanitarian funding.

A new joint United Nations report warns that people in five hunger hotspots — Sudan, Palestine (Occupied Palestinian Territory), South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali — face extreme hunger, starvation, and death in the next five months unless urgent humanitarian action is swiftly taken to de-escalate conflict, stop displacement, and provide full-scale aid.

Despite a temporary lull in fighting, United Nations officials warned the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Yemen remains gripped by escalating regional tensions, that are derailing prospects for a lasting peace, a deepening economic collapse and a worsening humanitarian crisis that continues to devastate civilians, especially children. Half of Yemen's children - some 2.3 million - are malnourished, with 600,000 of them suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the impact of ongoing airstrikes on civilians in Yemen and the infrastructure they rely on, including health facilities. More than two dozen airstrikes have been reported since Monday. Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies continue to receive updates on the devastating impact of the attacks in recent days.

As Yemen marks ten years of war, humanitarian organizations including the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warn that a widening gap between humanitarian needs and the funding needed to meet them risks leaving millions of Yemenis without access to food, health care and protection. After a decade of crisis, humanitarian needs in Yemen continue to rise, particularly among children.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Danish Refugee Council (DRC) predicts that global forced displacement will surge in the next two years, with 4.2 million people newly displaced in 2025 alone, and a further 2.5 million people expected to flee their communities in search of safety and protection in 2026. The grim forecast comes at a time when global displacement is already at an all-time high, with some 123 million people currently forcibly displaced around the world.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has instructed UN agencies, funds and programs to suspend all activities in Yemen's Houthi-controlled Saada governorate for security reasons, his spokesperson said on Monday. The measure follows the recent detention by Houthi rebels of eight more United Nations staff members, including six working in the governorate.

The United Nations and humanitarian aid agencies launched the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Yemen on Wednesday, appealing for US$2.47 billion to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to 10.5 million people in need. More than half of the country's population - 19.5 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection this year, with Yemen's most vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women and girls, at greatest risk.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that Yemen bears the highest burden of cholera in the world. According to a WHO report released earlier this week, there are approximately 250,000 suspected cases of cholera reported, with more than 860 associated deaths since the beginning of the year, accounting for 35 percent of the global cholera burden and 18 percent of the global reported mortality.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) released its annual Emergency Watchlist on Wednesday, spotlighting the 20 countries most likely to face escalating humanitarian needs in the coming year. According to the dire ranking, the top five crises are Sudan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Myanmar, Syria and South Sudan, as war and climate change fuel new and ongoing humanitarian emergencies around the world.

The year is not yet over, but 2024 has already become the deadliest on record for humanitarian workers, with the war in Gaza driving up the numbers, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday, citing data from the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD). The grim milestone was reached with the recorded deaths of 281 aid workers globally, surpassing the previous record of 2023.

A new United Nations report warns that people forced to flee war, violence and persecution are increasingly finding themselves on the front lines of the global climate crisis, exposed to a deadly combination of threats but without the funding and support to adapt. The warning comes as three-quarters of the world's more than 123 million forcibly displaced people live in countries heavily exposed to climate change.

A new United Nations report - out this week - warns that the spread of conflict, armed violence, climate hazards and economic stress are driving severe hunger and, in some cases, famine conditions in 22 countries and territories, with no likelihood of improvement in the next six months. Acute food insecurity in these hotspots will increase in scale and severity, pushing millions of people to the brink.

Amid rising regional tensions and a worsening humanitarian situation, all actors must put the interests of the Yemeni people first in order to restore peace and stability in the country, Hans Grundberg, the UN envoy for Yemen, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. Grundberg warned that as the military escalation in the Middle East intensifies, Yemen risks being dragged further into it.

Hunger levels in many of the world's poorest countries will remain high for another 136 years if the lack of progress in feeding the world continues, according to a new report released Thursday. While global progress in reducing hunger has stagnated, the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) reveals that hunger is at severe or alarming levels in 42 countries.

Numerous countries around the world have been hit by torrential rains, flash floods, river flooding, and other large-scale flooding events that have submerged vast areas of land, caused devastation, affected millions of people, displaced hundreds of thousands, and claimed hundreds of lives. Although the rainy season is still underway in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the magnitude of the ongoing natural disasters points to the effects of the climate crisis and the La Niña phenomenon.

Acute malnutrition is surging in areas controlled by the Government of Yemen (GoY), with the West Coast reaching "extremely critical" levels for the first time, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in Yemen said on Monday. After nine years of war, Yemen remains one of the world's most severe and protracted humanitarian crises, with an estimated 18.2 million people - more than half the population - in need of assistance and protection.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that halfway through 2024, only 18 percent - or US$8.8 billion - of the US$48.7 billion needed to help people in need around the world this year has been received. This is far less than at the same time last year, when there was already a massive shortfall. At the same time, more than 300 million people around the world are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that forced displacement around the world has reached historic highs, driven by conflict, persecution, human rights abuses, the climate crisis and other events disturbing public order. In a report released on Thursday, UNHCR said the number of forcibly displaced people continued to rise this year and now stands at 120 million.

At least 49 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers have died, and 140 others are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Yemen. The boat carrying 260 people - Somalis and Ethiopians - sank on Monday near Alghareef Point in Yemen's Shabwah governorate. Among those who lost their lives in the tragedy are 31 women and six children, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Acute food insecurity is set to increase in scale and severity in 18 hunger hotspots, a new United Nations early warning report said on Wednesday. The report highlights the urgent need for humanitarian assistance to prevent famine in Gaza and Sudan, and further deterioration of the devastating hunger crises in Haiti, Mali and South Sudan. It also warns of the lingering effects of El Niño and the looming threat of La Niña, bringing more climate extremes that could disrupt livelihoods.

International donors have failed to adequately support the ongoing humanitarian response in Yemen at the Sixth Senior Officials' Meeting of donor countries in Brussels today. The announced funding of just over $791 million represents less than a third (29 percent) of the $2.7 billion needed in Yemen this year to meet urgent humanitarian needs, including those of 9.8 million children.

Children are being denied access to life-saving humanitarian aid in conflict zones around the world in blatant disregard for international law, a senior United Nations official told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday. Speakers at the hearing focused in particular on the alarming situation for children in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Sudan, Haiti, Yemen, Myanmar, Mali, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

As the war in Yemen entered its tenth year this week, millions of Yemenis continue to suffer the long-term consequences of the devastating ongoing conflict. Nine years after Saudi Arabia launched its military offensive, Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. More than half of the country's population - an estimated 18.2 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance this year. Among them are 9.8 million children.

International donor funding to alleviate hunger in the world's neediest countries plummeted in 2023, despite exacerbating global food insecurity reaching record highs, aid agencies warn. Humanitarian appeals for the 17 countries bearing the brunt of food insecurity suffered a staggering funding gap of 65 percent last year, up 23 percent from 2022, according to an analysis released this week by the humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger.

26 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Yemen have expressed grave concern Tuesday over the humanitarian impacts of the recent military escalation in Yemen and the Red Sea. While the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains one of the largest in the world, the NGOs warn escalation will only worsen the situation for vulnerable civilians and hinder the ability of aid organizations to deliver critical services. 

The United Nations says warring parties in Yemen have agreed on a significant step to end the devastating civil war, following a series of meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Muscat, Oman mediated by the UN. In a statement Saturday, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, welcomed the parties’ commitment to a set of measures, which includes implementing a nationwide ceasefire, improving living conditions in Yemen, and the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced Tuesday the pause of general food distributions in areas of Yemen under the Sanaa Based Authorities' (SBA) control. The pause is driven mainly by limited funding and the absence of an agreement with the authorities on a smaller program that matches available resources to the neediest families.  Sanaa and northern regions of Yemen are under the control of the Ansar-Allah movement - also known as the Houthi group.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots – comprising a total of 22 countries or territories including two regions – during the period from November 2023 to April 2024.

Multiple over-lapping crises are impeding global efforts to tackle hunger, according to the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released Thursday, which shows that hunger levels are at “serious” or “alarming” levels in 43 countries. The report, which is jointly published by the international humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide and the German charity Welthungerhilfe, finds progress against hunger worldwide has largely stalled since 2015. 

Humanitarian aid in Yemen has been cut by 62 percent over five years, endangering the lives and futures of the country's most vulnerable people, especially children, the international non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children International warned on Monday. The continued funding cuts come as two-thirds of Yemen’s population – 21.6 million people, including 11 million children – are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection this year.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has released US$125 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to boost underfunded humanitarian operations in fourteen countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. Afghanistan and Yemen top the recipient list with $20 million each. 

Between March 2022 and June 2023, Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who tried to cross the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Monday. The rights group states that these killings, which appear to be ongoing, would constitute a crime against humanity, if committed as part of a government policy to murder migrants.