Humanitarian situation Millions of people in need of aid

    The United Nations considers the situation in Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian crises worldwide. As a consequence of the current conflict, over 21.5 million of the country's approximately 34 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid, more than half of them children. Over 17 million are severely food insecure. More than 4.5 million people have been internally displaced, some of them multiple times (as at May 2025).

    Ruin near an aid facility in Raymah, Yemen.

    Ruin near an aid facility in Raymah, Yemen.

    Food and energy supplies and the health and education systems have largely broken down. Yemen has seen repeated outbreaks of infectious diseases such as cholera, polio, malaria, and dengue. 70 per cent of children three years old have not received a full course of basic vaccinations recommended in the national immunisation schedule.

    While the security situation has improved slightly over the past two years, the economic situation and the availability of basic services have continued to deteriorate. The continuing economic blockade, fuel shortages, disastrous floods, and sharply rising food prices and disrupted supply chains in the wake of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine are causing hardship for the people. In the past, Yemen imported 40 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine.


    Aid programmes massively underfunded

    The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that funding requirements for humanitarian aid in Yemen in 2024 amount to 2.71 billion US dollars. The country particularly needs international assistance in the areas of food security and agriculture. However, by the beginning of April 2024, donors had only pledged a little under 270 million US dollars (9.2 per cent of the funding needed). In 2023, funding received was 1.7 billion US dollars, while funding requirements were 4.34 billion dollars.

    As at: 23/04/2024