WFP Warns Yemen Hunger Crisis Is Deepening as Fighting Displaces Thousands

The World Food Programme has warned that Yemen’s worsening conflict is pushing more families into hunger, with 74 percent of households in accessible government-held areas unable to meet their basic food needs.

The figure, described by the WFP as a record for the year, applies to areas where an estimated 10 million people live. The agency said intensified fighting, displacement, disrupted markets and shrinking access to aid are increasing pressure on households already struggling to obtain food.

Displacement adds pressure

According to the WFP, tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the latest surge in violence. Displaced families have been arriving outside Aden and around Taiz without food or water, the agency said.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 149,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen, with many forced to move more than once.

More than 3,700 people fleeing the fighting had reached Djibouti through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by late September, according to WFP figures.

Across Yemen, 18.3 million people are facing severe food insecurity, while 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, the agency said.

WFP seeks additional funding

Matthew Hollingworth, the WFP’s Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations, said the latest escalation could have a severe effect on food security.

“We are looking at a hunger crisis that is going to grow as it persists,” Hollingworth told reporters in Geneva by video link from Rome.

The WFP said it is scaling up its response to reach as many as 1.5 million people and needs $109 million to support the expansion. It has also redirected resources from food distributions planned for November.

The agency warned that, without new funding, vulnerable displaced people could face interruptions to assistance within a month.

Conflict threatens supply routes

Yemen imports about 90 percent of its food, making access to markets and shipping routes especially important during the conflict.

The latest fighting is described as a major escalation between Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi group. The Houthis control most of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. They also seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast last month from the internationally recognised government based in Aden.

The escalation has been widely described as the most serious confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since a United Nations-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022.

Hollingworth warned that disruption around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz could push up global food and fuel prices. The WFP said the fighting could also further affect supply routes and worsen conditions for people already facing hunger.