John AdoyiThe United Nations has issued a stark warning over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen, revealing that more than one million children under the age of five are now suffering from life-threatening malnutrition due to the ongoing conflict between Houthi rebels and Yemeni government forces.
Speaking to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the affected children are among over 17 million Yemenis on the brink of acute food insecurity. He cautioned that many face the risk of permanent physical and cognitive damage if urgent action is not taken.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“The food security crisis in Yemen has been steadily worsening since late 2023,” said Fletcher. “We haven’t seen this level of deprivation since before the UN-brokered truce in early 2022. Communities in Hajjah, Hodeidah and Amran governorates are slipping back into famine-like conditions.”
READ ALSO: Yemen: Saudi-led Coalition Accused Of Seizing Emirati Cargo
The deepening crisis, he explained, is being fuelled by a sharp decline in global funding, which has severely disrupted aid efforts. “The funding gap is also extreme for life-saving health and protection services – particularly for the 6.2 million women and girls facing the threat of gender-based violence. Support for survivors is severely under-resourced, putting countless lives at risk,” he added.
The conflict in Yemen, has been going on for more than 20 years but escalated into a full-scale civil war in 2014 when Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sana’a, has since claimed over 200,000 lives, according to UN figures. UNICEF estimates that more than 11,000 of those killed have been children.
Despite the grim situation, Fletcher said humanitarian workers continue to make headway where possible. “We’ve reduced cholera outbreaks by 70 per cent by focusing on community-level awareness and hygiene promotion,” he noted.
He also highlighted a simplified nutrition protocol being implemented, which has allowed over 650,000 children suffering from high-risk moderate acute malnutrition to receive life-saving treatment.
“More than 3,200 health facilities are still providing essential services to 7.2 million people, despite enormous resource constraints,” he said.
Also briefing the Council was Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, who stressed that tensions in the country remain dangerously high. “Without meaningful peace negotiations, Yemen’s humanitarian crisis will only worsen,” he warned.
Grundberg reiterated calls for the release of all detained humanitarian workers, including UN staff, and urged donor countries to bridge the funding gap to sustain operations on the ground.
“Yemen’s future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and to give its people the hope and dignity they so deeply deserve,” he said.
The UN has repeatedly called for increased international support to prevent the situation in Yemen from deteriorating further, but current funding levels remain critically inadequate. As the war enters its second decade, the Security Council is being urged to refocus global attention on Yemen’s escalating humanitarian crisis.
