© Muna Al Maisary pour Action contre la Faim
Headline
A decade of humanitarian crisis
Yemen remains one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, and the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Against a backdrop of economic decline and rising prices, the majority of the Yemeni population lacks access to food, water and adequate health services. Since 2012, Action Against Hunger programs have been supporting the most vulnerable communities in the south and north of Yemen.
Despite a decline in the intensity of fighting, almost half of Yemen’s population is food insecure. Some 2.7 million pregnant and breast-feeding women need treatment for acute malnutrition, and 55% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition¹. With limited access to healthcare and vaccines, children are also particularly at risk from diseases such as cholera, measles and diphtheria.
Like five million displaced Yemenis, Fatma’s family was forced to flee their home because of the conflict and now lives in a makeshift shelter². “When I saw the devastation of our home, I feared for our survival. I took my children in my arms and left,” explains Fatma, a mother of five from the Hodeidah region. Fatma, accompanied by her husband, her mother and her children travelled hundreds of kilometers before arriving at a camp for displaced persons in Al-Musaimeer, in the governorate of Abyan. The family relied on the father’s work to survive, but an accident left him permanently unable to work. Although financially supported by relatives, the family often goes to bed hungry.
“One day, my son Ali became so weak that I feared for his life, continues Fatma. He was born with a healthy weight, but at the age of 10 months, the Action Against Hunger mobile team diagnosed him with severe acute malnutrition. Once at the health unit, the doctors gave him special therapeutic food and monitored him closely. After a difficult nine-day period, I saw him regain his strength. Action Against Hunger covered our transport costs so that we could return for regular check-ups. They also gave us hygiene products and taught us how to prevent malnutrition. Today, Ali is healthy again“.
A humanitarian situation that continues to deteriorate
After a decade of conflict and successive crises, the number of Yemenis in need of humanitarian aid continues to grow, rising from 18.2 million in 2024 to 19.5 million in 2025³. The instability in the Red Sea has only worsened the humanitarian situation, disrupting the delivery of food, fuel and other basic necessities, much of which is imported. Insecurity around the coast has also threatened the livelihoods of the fishermen who provide food for the surrounding regions. The latter have sometimes had to move to other regions in search of new economic opportunities.
As the third country in the world most affected by the climate crisis, Yemen is frequently hit by violent weather phenomena, including torrential rains and devastating floods. In 2024, essential infrastructure was destroyed and tens of thousands of people affected. These seasonal floods pose a serious threat to displaced families who have no access to functional water, hygiene and sanitation infrastructure or housing, and are likely to exacerbate malnutrition and the ongoing cholera epidemic.
Major challenges for humanitarian assistance
Despite the significant problems associated with humanitarian access, our teams work tirelessly to provide communities with the resources they need to survive. In 2023 alone, more than ten years after the start of our programs, we have supported more than 400,000 people. We provide medical support and nutritional treatment to people threatened by malnutrition, as well as clean water to communities to prevent water-borne epidemics such as cholera. Every day, our therapists help patients heal the invisible wounds left by this catastrophic humanitarian situation.
Yet, despite immense needs, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains underfunded. By 2024, only 55.3% of funding targets had been met⁴. International donor fatigue has been compounded by the end of US funding, which contributed to 35.5% of the humanitarian response in the country in 2024⁵. The sudden cessation of humanitarian aid and the rapid dismantling of essential elements of the aid system supported by the US government will undermine efforts to combat malnutrition and increase humanitarian needs among the most vulnerable.
¹ Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 (January 2025) – Yemen | ReliefWeb
² Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 (January 2025) – Yemen | ReliefWeb
³ Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 (January 2025) – Yemen | ReliefWeb
⁴ Yemen 2024 | Financial Tracking Service
⁵ Yemen 2024 | Financial Tracking Service
Yemen
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