Yemen’s food security outlook remains extremely bleak, with serious challenges expected to continue through 2026, according to the United Nations. After 11 years of crisis, many families do not know where their next meal is coming from.
Here, Amr Amin, Islamic Relief Yemen’s Head of Food Security & Livelihoods, (pictured below) discusses the challenges Yemeni families face.
Q: How severe is Yemen’s food crisis right now?
A: The situation is extremely serious. According to the latest IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) analysis, over 18 million people – nearly half the population – were severely food insecure during February 2026. There’s a risk that this number will remain unchanged, or worsen, in March as pressures mount. If we look back to January, Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) estimates put Yemen among the world’s most food‑insecure countries in January 2026.
In government-controlled areas (GoY), recent central bank interventions have temporarily strengthened the Yemeni riyal and lowered food prices, making food easier to buy, but these improvements are highly fragile.
In areas under the Sana’a-based Authority (SBA), agricultural production prospects are weak, and the likelihood of restoring large-scale humanitarian food assistance or other sectoral support remains very low.
Yemen remains at risk of famine conditions in 2026. This risk will only intensify if the decline in humanitarian assistance continues or if new shocks – economic, climatic, or conflict related – occur in the coming months.
Q: How many people depend entirely on humanitarian aid for food?
A: The most recent IPC analysis (covering conditions up to February 2026) indicates an estimated 18.3 million people (52% of the population), are acutely food insecure, facing IPC Phase 3+. This means they are unable to meet their basic food needs without external assistance.
Q: Funding for Yemen has been cut significantly. What has that meant in real terms for families on the ground?
A: Funding cuts in 2025 have pushed families deeper into hunger. In 2025, Yemen’s humanitarian response came under severe strain as the UN’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) received only 28% of required funding – the lowest level since 2015.
This unprecedented gap has forced all humanitarian clusters to scale back, including Islamic Relief. Alarmingly, contributions to the World Food Programme (WFP) fell by over 70% between 2024 and 2025.
Many households are skipping meals, relying on poor‑quality food, pulling children out of school to work, and selling their last remaining assets just to survive.
In SBA areas, all WFP operations have remained suspended since September 2025 due to operational access constraints.
Q: Are you having to choose who eats and who doesn’t? How are those decisions made?
A: Islamic Relief provides food assistance to those in need in Yemen throughout the year. We also provide additional support through our seasonal programmes, including Ramadan and zakat-ul-fitr food packages and qurbani meat distributions.
However, with the level of funding received in 2025-2026, the humanitarian community simply cannot reach every person in need.
Support now focuses on areas facing the most severe food insecurity. Families with children under 5, pregnant or breastfeeding women, people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, and those in active conflict zones or flood‑affected areas are considered at the highest risk.
These decisions are not made lightly. Yet, the painful reality remains: every time one family is prioritised for assistance, another equally desperate family is left without help.
Q: Is donor fatigue setting in after years of conflict? Why is funding declining despite clear humanitarian need?
A: Yes, donor fatigue is increasingly evident. Around the world, multiple crises are stretching donor budgets thinner than ever.
Within Yemen, operational challenges, particularly access restrictions, have made it harder for agencies to reach people in need, complicating donor engagement.
Q: If funding levels don’t improve, what will Yemen look like 6 months from now?
A: If current funding levels do not change, the outlook is deeply concerning.
Malnutrition rates are expected to worsen, particularly in the western coastal governorates where vulnerabilities are already acute.
As resources shrink, more families will be driven toward harmful coping mechanisms – taking on unmanageable debt, moving in search of assistance, and resorting to early marriage or child labour for survival.
Q: What is your message to the international community watching this crisis unfold?
A: My message is both urgent and hopeful.
Yemen’s hunger crisis is severe, but it is not irresolvable.
Millions of people who once depended on humanitarian assistance are no longer receiving it, while food prices continue to rise and livelihoods continue to collapse.
However, with adequate funding, sustained humanitarian access, and support for livelihood recovery, the trajectory of this crisis can still be changed.
The window to prevent famine in Yemen is narrowing, but it has not yet closed. Now is the time to act. Please donate to our Yemen Emergency Appeal today to provide food to those in need and help ease suffering in Yemen.
