Approximately 5 million people in Yemen, representing 47% of the population, are experiencing acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – IPC Phase 3 and above). Currently, 1.4 million individuals are trapped in the “emergency” phase, a number expected to rise as the year progresses.
In a joint statement, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted, “Families are being pushed beyond their coping capacities by the combined effects of economic collapse, climate shocks, disrupted livelihoods, and dwindling humanitarian aid.”
Hunger Set to Worsen
The lean season between June and September is anticipated to increase the number of people facing emergency conditions to 1.5 million. Following the post-harvest period from October to December 2026, no significant recovery is expected, with the number of people in emergency (IPC Phase 4) conditions projected to climb to 1.8 million.
Food insecurity continues to be the primary driver of Yemen’s high malnutrition burden following over a decade of conflict. Reduced dietary diversity, insufficient household food consumption, limited access to essential preventive nutrition services, and deteriorating living conditions increase the risk of acute malnutrition, particularly among pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children.
Economic Decline and Aid Reductions
Irregular salaries, high food and fuel prices, reduced income opportunities, and restrictions on agricultural production limit families’ ability to meet their most basic food needs. Despite approximately 60% of Yemeni households relying at least partially on agriculture, harvests are under increasing pressure due to extreme weather, pest outbreaks, and disrupted supply chains.
Simultaneously, sharp reductions in humanitarian food assistance and interventions in nutrition, health, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sectors are expected due to critical funding shortfalls. This leads to aid being cut at a time of greatest need.
Mobile Teams Reach Underserved Areas
Against this backdrop, the World Health Organization (WHO), in coordination with local partners in Aden and Marib, is bringing health services directly to internally displaced persons’ camps to respond to increasing risks of malaria. In the Al-Shaab camp in Aden, health issues are a daily reality for many displaced families living in challenging conditions.
Overcrowding, poor environmental conditions, and limited access to services heighten the risk of malaria and other vector-borne diseases, especially for women and children. “Sometimes at night, a child suddenly develops a fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, and there is no emergency service for us,” said 21-year-old Abeer Abdulwarith Mohammed Saeed. “If I, my husband, or my children get sick, we cannot get treatment due to our limited means.”
‘We Are Healthy’
The teams are implementing a strategy through mobile clinics that move between camps to detect and diagnose cases early, especially in areas far from health services. For Saeed and her family, the mobile team’s visit brought reassurance. “The medical team conducted malaria and dengue fever tests for me and my children today. We waited for the results, and thankfully, it was not malaria. We are healthy.”
Urgent Funding Needed
Key UN aid agencies involved are calling on the international community to urgently increase funding for humanitarian food assistance, nutrition services, health, agriculture, and resilience programs. Without urgent, sustained, and scaled-up action, millions of vulnerable people risk falling deeper into hunger, malnutrition, and irreversible loss of livelihoods.
