Yemen Monitor/Reporting Unit:
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that Yemen continues to grapple with one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, exacerbated by ten years of conflict. The crisis is characterized by ongoing conflict, climate change, economic collapse, and the breakdown of institutions and public services.
According to the 2024 Humanitarian Needs Overview, over half of the population (approximately 18.2 million people) requires humanitarian assistance, including 4.5 million internally displaced persons and over 60,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia.
The report highlights the divided governance of the country between the internationally recognized government in the south, including Aden, and the de facto authorities in the north, including Sana’a. This division necessitates coordinating humanitarian and protection activities with two separate authorities, depending on the location.
Despite a de facto continuation of the UN-brokered truce that began in April 2022, the overall security situation remains unstable with frequent low-level violations in frontline areas.
The report notes that the prospects for a lasting peace remain slim, while regional developments in the Middle East and the Red Sea continue to negatively impact Yemen’s security, economic, and political situation.
The prolonged conflict, the associated collapse of infrastructure and basic services, and limited humanitarian access have left many displaced individuals and families living in sub-standard conditions. Inadequate water and sanitation facilities contribute to frequent outbreaks of cholera, leading to malnutrition.
To exacerbate these needs, Yemen’s economy is in crisis, with over 80% of the population now living below the poverty line. Among the 96,907 internally displaced households and host communities assessed so far in 2024, nearly 50% reported earning 25,000 Yemeni riyals ($50 USD) or less per month, while 35% reported having no income at all.
This has forced some families to resort to harmful coping mechanisms, such as skipping meals, taking children out of school to work, and begging, exposing women and children to other forms of exploitation and abuse, including early marriage.
Since February 2024, pre-existing tensions in Yemen’s banking sector have escalated following a series of decisions by the central banks in Aden and Sana’a that restricted transactions involving banks located outside their areas of control.
In practice, this means that it is no longer possible to transfer funds between banks in the north and south of the country. Although banks have since managed to de-escalate the situation, the overall economic situation remains extremely difficult, with a shortage of foreign currency, obstacles to currency exchange, and a rapid decline in the value of the Yemeni Rial.
These developments have placed additional strain on displaced families and affected the implementation of humanitarian and protection activities, with some activities being halted altogether, exacerbating existing protection risks.
Humanitarian access remains a major concern in Yemen. Bureaucratic obstacles, along with general insecurity, the threat posed by explosive remnants of war, and the arrest and detention of aid workers, continue to hinder the delivery of humanitarian and protection activities.
Restrictions on the movement of Yemeni female aid workers pose a particular challenge in delivering culturally appropriate awareness-raising and support activities, where the presence of female staff is essential. The widespread presence of explosive remnants of war and landmines in the governorates of Hodeidah, Taiz, and Marib makes Yemen one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world.
Climate change, environmental degradation, and extreme weather events are major drivers of need and displacement in Yemen, and these events continue to increase in both severity and frequency year after year.
The 2024 rainy season brought unprecedented floods to all governorates, affecting 100,000 households and exacerbating existing needs for shelter, infrastructure, and protection. At the same time, Yemen is among the world’s worst water crises.
Water scarcity is a growing concern, with groundwater levels declining steadily. This is likely to exacerbate tensions in the country, with increased competition for access to dwindling water supplies.
