Numerous humanitarian organizations are urging increased donor funding to address the urgent humanitarian crisis in Yemen, warning that failure to act would result in “catastrophic consequences” for the war-torn country's population.
In a joint statement released on Monday, 188 humanitarian organizations, including United Nations agencies, emphasized that only $435 million of the $2.7 billion required for critical assistance had been secured. They highlighted imminent threats such as food shortages and disease outbreaks. The statement underscored that underfunding was jeopardizing the continuity of humanitarian efforts, leading to delays, cutbacks, and halts in life-saving aid programs. It also noted that 18.2 million people, over half the population, require assistance after more than nine years of conflict.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when Houthi rebels seized significant territory, including the capital, Sanaa. The situation escalated in March 2015 with the intervention of a United States-backed military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, aiming to reinstate the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Although a UN-brokered truce in 2022 has reduced hostilities, the humanitarian situation remains dire. Recent Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza and US retaliatory strikes threaten to disrupt the fragile peace.
The country's challenges are compounded by a shrinking economy, crumbling public services, sporadic violence, and vulnerabilities to climate change, the aid groups emphasized. They highlighted that nursing mothers, the elderly, and children are particularly at risk due to escalating food shortages. The current rainy season has also led to a surge in cholera cases, while unexploded ordnance continues to claim lives and cause injuries.
Yemen, with a population of 33 million, is one of the world's poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries. Hundreds of thousands have perished in the conflict or due to indirect causes such as starvation, according to the UN. NGOs previously warned that two in five Yemeni children are out of school, and over 17 million people, half of them children, require health assistance.
The call for increased support for Yemen's 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan coincided with a meeting of senior European Union officials in Brussels to discuss aid for the country.