UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said “Yemen is not out of the woods” as the humanitarian situation is deteriorating, with children most affected.
Fletcher who briefed the Security Council on Wednesday added that “Half of Yemen’s children – or 2.3 million – are malnourished. 600,000 of them severely so,” saying “ adding “malnutrition is not just about hunger,” he added, as it attacks immunity, leaving children vulnerable to deadly infections like pneumonia and diarrhea – both leading causes of child mortality in Yemen.
He also said “Children are not alone in being disproportionately impacted,” as malnutrition also affects 1.4 million pregnant and breastfeeding women in Yemen, placing mothers and newborns at grave risk.
The country also has one of the worst immunisation rates in the world as only 69 per cent of children under a year old are fully immunized and 20 per cent have received no vaccinations at all.
As a result, diseases such as cholera and measles are rising. In 2024, Yemen accounted for over a third of global cholera cases and 18 per cent of related deaths, in addition to having one of the highest measles burdens globally.
Overall, some 9.6 million women and girls are in severe need of life-saving humanitarian support, he said.
He warned, however, that humanitarians “are running out of time and resources” as their 2025 response plan for Yemen is barely nine per cent funded.
“These shortfalls have very real consequences,” he said. “Nearly 400 health facilities – including 64 hospitals – will stop operating, impacting nearly seven million people.”
UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, who also briefed the Security Council said “The challenges facing Yemen are immense: from the deep and significant levels of mistrust between the parties, with some still reportedly preparing for war, to near economic collapse,”
He stressed the need for continued engagement by the international community to help the Yemeni people realize their desire to build a stable, prosperous and safe country.
Grundberg used the briefing to again highlight the plight of personnel from the UN, international and national NGOs, civil society and diplomatic missions, who continue to be arbitrarily detained by the Houthis. “Not only is their detention in violation of international law, but it has also caused a significant chilling effect throughout the international community, which only has one outcome: undermining support to Yemen, which will sadly impact the Yemenis most in need,” he said.