YEMEN: A HUNGER CRISIS DEEPENS

As the devastating crisis in Yemen entered its ninth year in March, Islamic Relief remained at the forefront of humanitarian response. We provided life-saving assistance to 2.6 million Yemenis in 2023 through our dedicated team of 300 staff and 3,000 volunteers – our most extensive aid operation anywhere in the world.

Yemen is facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 21.6 million people in desperate need of assistance. However, due to conflict, economic collapse, and funding shortages, aid organisations have been forced to scale back or dismantle crucial programmes. These challenges are exacerbated by global food scarcity, leaving vulnerable families unable to afford basic sustenance. Immediate action is imperative to prevent further devastation and endless suffering.

The UN reported that its 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen had received only 37.5 per cent of its funding target of $4.34 billion (approx. £3.4 billion) as of 28 November. The enormous funding shortfall highlights the urgent need for support.

Hunger is an enormous cause of hardship in Yemen, where some 17.3 million people don’t have enough food to eat. Soaring prices and unemployment have put even basic food items beyond the reach of many families and left Yemen with the world’s highest rates of malnutrition.

The collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had previously allowed grain to be safely exported from Ukraine during the war in the country, has also had a devastating impact on the ability of Yemeni families to feed themselves.

One of Islamic Relief’s focus areas in 2023 was providing vital food aid to over 2 million people every month in partnership with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), through a combination of food vouchers, cash transfers, and food packs containing essentials such as flour, rice, pulses, cooking oil, sugar, and salt.

Our health work assisted more than 151,600 people in 2023, saving lives and easing suffering, while more than 50,000 people benefitted from our work improving water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Our nutrition programmes benefitted more than 1 million people. We delivered medicines and medical supplies to enable health facilities to treat severely malnourished women and children. We ran training on hygiene practices, established ‘feeding corners’ for mothers, infants and young children, produced and distributed educational materials, procured and distributed furniture and supported the supervision of staff, including with on-the-job training sessions.

We also invested significantly in water and sanitation, nutrition and healthcare, orphan and child welfare, and livelihood support. Our support for public services is vital in a country where around 2.7 million children are out of school, one woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth every two hours, and over 15 million people do not have access to safe water and sanitation.

While recognising that addressing the root causes of the crisis is essential in guaranteeing long-term improvement to the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, Islamic Relief strongly urges donors, development agencies and international financial institutions to extend their support to help pave the way for a brighter future for the people of Yemen.