Yemen: WFP warns of potential ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ as fighting blocks aid delivery

“We are critically concerned about the escalating conflict, but even more so about the growing number of people we can no longer reach because of it,” said El-Khidir Daloum, WFP country director in Yemen. 

He noted that many of the affected families have been displaced multiple times and were already struggling to afford even basic food items. 

“This is the kind of situation that can rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe if assistance cannot move safely and reach those who need it most,” he warned. 

Trapped families, rising needs 

Taiz is Yemen’s third largest city and capital of an eponymous governorate in which some districts have hosted the largest numbers of people displaced by the mounting violence between Saudi-supported Government troops and Iran-backed Houthi rebels. 

Many of the displaced are now inaccessible due to ongoing fighting and imminent road closures around the governorate. 

WFP said the situation is especially alarming as Taiz has some of the highest levels of food insecurity, with 10 out of 16 districts already classified at emergency levels. 

Dwindling food stocks 

The latest monitoring indicates that wheat flour stocks are nearly depleted while local markets are running out of food, according to the UN agency. 

WFP and partners cannot access more than 600,000 people in Taiz who depend on humanitarian assistance, including more than 200,000 women and children.  

Some 800,000 people are now out of reach nationwide, taking into account communities affected by access losses on the West Coast. 

Millions going hungry nationwide 

The UN continues to sound the alarm over the crisis in Yemen, where more than 18 million people face acute food insecurity. Some 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, including 500,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form of the condition. 

Recent WFP monitoring in accessible areas found that nearly 75 per cent of households were unable to meet their basic food needs – a record number for this year and a sign that food security is significantly deteriorating. 

WFP said the escalation has also severely disrupted its operations, with offices breached, assets and food stocks lost and critical supply chain routes cut off. 

Disrupted operations, detained personnel 

Meanwhile, 37 of its staff are among 72 UN personnel who remain detained by Houthi de facto authorities. WFP has joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres in repeatedly calling for their immediate and unconditional release. 

The agency continues to uphold the critical need for safe and sustained humanitarian access in Yemen along with immediate funding.  Teams have provided emergency assistance to more than 115,000 newly displaced people are preparing to expand to include 1.5 million people when access is restored.

WFP stressed that it requires $268 million to sustain operations through 2027, which include emergency food assistance, nutrition programmes, school meals, resilience activities and critical humanitarian logistics services.