Acute malnutrition reaches critical levels

This sharp deterioration in food security is due to a number of factors, including climatic shocks, lack of income-generating opportunities, a worsening economic situation leading to inflation of the local currency and soaring food prices, limited access to healthcare, lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, high morbidity rates and persistent outbreaks of measles and cholera, a disease closely linked to malnutrition². In addition, thousands of fishermen on the west coast have reportedly been deprived of their livelihoods as a result of renewed hostilities in the Red Sea.

More than 18 million people – half the population – need humanitarian aid to survive, and 17 million people are food insecure in Yemen. For Daniel Nyabera, Director of Action Against Hunger, the conclusions of the IPC report must be followed by urgent action to avoid the worst. “Malnutrition rates in the west coast of Yemen are worse than they were before the cessation of cross border hostilities and territorial conflicts that rocked Yemen between 2015 and 2021. A sustainable multi-sectoral response is thus needed to prevent an increase in morbidity and potential mortality, particularly among children under 5 years old ”, he explains.

In Yemen, Action Against Hunger supports the rehabilitation of sanitary infrastructures and access to drinking water and hygiene, provides psychological and psychosocial support to people affected by violence and abuse, supports health centers in areas most affected by malnutrition, and works to strengthen the capacity of households to generate income and access food on the markets.

In Al Khawkah, the prevalence of acute malnutrition exceeds 30% according to the IPC report, and the population, largely internally displaced, depends on humanitarian aid to survive. Between April and July 2024, 1,696 people were treated for moderate to severe acute malnutrition in the 4 health centers supported by ACF, compared with 1,037 people between April and July 2023. In this district in the south of Hodeidah governorate, ACF has taken the lead in a task force to tackle the causes of malnutrition. But many challenges remain.   

“The number of mobile clinics has dropped significantly due to a lack of funding, and for many families, going to the health centers represents a cost they are unable to assume”, reports an Action Against Hunger employee in Yemen. “In this context, ACF has decided to cover the cost of transport. It’s a way for us to ensure that malnourished children are taken care of in health centers. Identifying and treating cases of malnutrition is made very difficult by the lack of community awareness. Increasing the number of trained community volunteers is therefore essential to prevent, identify and treat cases of acute malnutrition”.

Like other humanitarian organizations, Action Against Hunger operates in a context of insecurity and faces numerous bureaucratic obstacles to delivering aid, particularly in the north-west of the country, where needs remain very great.

Despite growing humanitarian needs, the capacity of humanitarian organizations to intervene is limited by the drop in funding. Humanitarian organizations were calling for $4.3 billion by 2023, but only 40% of funding requests had been met. Due to the lack of funding, the World Food Program (WFP) interrupted its general assistance program in January in government-controlled areas based in Sanaa, and carried out only 2 of the 4 planned distributions, with only 40% of the standard food basket provided, in government-controlled areas of Yemen.

Furthermore, the upsurge in hostilities in the Red Sea and on Yemeni territory following Israel’s war in the occupied Palestinian territories is a major obstacle to the country’s stability and the population’s access to livelihoods.

[1] Exclusive breastfeeding for six months protects against gastrointestinal infections and other waterborne diseases, and early breastfeeding, within one hour, protects newborns against infections.

[2] As of May 1, 2024, 22,690 cases of cholera had been reported in 20 governorates of Yemen. The disease, which causes acute watery diarrhea and severe dehydration, is closely linked to malnutrition. Indeed, malnourished children are more susceptible to cholera, and cholera can worsen their nutritional status, leading to further deterioration in their health and potentially death if left untreated.