Khaberni - The United Nations warned on Saturday about the risk of more than 18 million Yemenis slipping into severe hunger amid significant challenges facing humanitarian work in the country.
This came in a statement issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, published on the X platform.
The statement said, "Yemen enters 2026 at a critical turning point, as 22.3 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection."
It added, "The increasing needs, significant funding cuts, and declining humanitarian access are forcing partners to reduce life-saving support."
The UN statement warned that "without urgent action, lives will be lost, community stability will be undermined, and basic systems will near collapse."
It also warned that inaction would push more than 18 million people into severe hunger with worsening food insecurity and more areas slipping into catastrophic emergency conditions.
It explained that the ongoing funding crisis "means that 19.3 million people will face escalating health risks, as nearly 40% of health facilities are only partially operational or not operational at all."
The statement clarified that "the humanitarian response plan for 2026 requires $2.16 billion to provide life-saving aid to 12 million women, men, and children across Yemen."
Prolonged Crisis
The United Nations has previously complained of a sharp decline in funding for its operations in Yemen, which faces one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world due to the conflict between government forces and the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) for about 11 years.
Despite some confrontations, Yemen has been experiencing a lull since April 2022 in the conflict that began on September 21, 2014.
The war has damaged most sectors in Yemen, including the health sector, and caused one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises in the world, amid UN efforts to promote the peace process in the country.
