The humanitarian crisis in Yemen continues to worsen, with at least 19.5 million residents expected to require humanitarian assistance in 2025, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday. Particular concern was expressed for malnourished children.
“The population of Yemen continues to face a severe humanitarian and civilian protection crisis,” noted Joyce Msuya, Deputy Director of OCHA, addressing the UN Security Council.
According to estimates included in a funding appeal for 2025, to be launched “soon,” the crisis is escalating. “At least 19.5 million people in Yemen will need humanitarian aid and protection this year, which is 1.3 million more than in 2024,” Msuya clarified.
“Almost half” of Yemen’s population, over 17 million people, “cannot meet their basic nutritional needs,” she added, expressing concern for the “most marginalised,” including women and girls, as well as the “4.8 million forcibly displaced.”
Among those at greatest risk, “nearly half of all children under five suffer from severe stunting due to malnutrition,” she underlined.
Adding to the strain, the “alarming” levels of the cholera epidemic have placed Yemen’s already overburdened healthcare system under “immense pressure.”
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, who recently returned from the capital Sanaa, controlled by Houthi rebels, highlighted the urgent need for “immediate de-escalation and genuine commitment to peace.”
He emphasised the necessity of addressing the crisis in Yemen, noting that “regional stability partly depends on achieving peace” in the country.
The war in Yemen, which began in 2014, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The Houthis, a tribe and armed movement from northern Yemen backed by Iran, seized control of Sanaa in 2014 and later took over much of the country’s north. To support the internationally recognised government, Saudi Arabia intervened in the conflict in March 2015, leading a coalition that has so far failed to defeat the rebels.
A ceasefire agreement brokered by the UN in April 2022 allowed for a reduction in fighting. In December 2022, the warring parties pledged to adhere to a roadmap devised by the international organisation.
However, as the war in Gaza continues, the Houthis have persisted in launching attacks against Israeli territory and vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The rebel movement claims these actions are a demonstration of “solidarity” with the Palestinians and vows to continue until a ceasefire agreement is implemented in Gaza.
It remains unclear whether the ceasefire agreement, announced to take effect on Sunday, will lead the Houthis to halt these actions.
The UN Security Council, in a resolution adopted with 12 votes in favour and three abstentions (Russia, China, Algeria), reiterated its demand for the Houthis to “immediately” cease their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Additionally, citing the use of advanced weapons in these attacks, the Security Council called on member states, without naming specific countries, to “stop supplying weapons to the Houthis” in violation of the arms embargo imposed on them.
Photo source: muslimhands.ca
Source: ANA-MPA
