Yemenis are ‘hanging by a thread,’ top aid official warns Security Council

The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains intact after over a month of strikes and counterstrikes in the Gulf region, with the Houthi movement’s military wing launching attacks against Israel in late March.

Tensions from this and prior regional conflicts have long affected maritime security. The Council adopted resolution 2722 (2024) two years ago following the Israel-Hamas war, demanding that the Houthis cease attacks on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Last week, China and Russia vetoed a resolution aimed at deterring interference with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz or threats to maritime security in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which lies between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

Higher food, fuel costs, amplify fragility

“After a decade of conflict, Yemen has little margin to absorb more shocks,” said Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, recalling his recent trip to Yemen’s temporary capital, Aden.

Yemenis have long faced inadequate public services, delayed salaries, and rising prices, he noted.

Currently, they must contend with even higher costs for fuel and food triggered by ongoing regional conflict.

These new pressures join old ones, he added, such as obstruction of Government exports, division of the central bank, and the “broader weaponisation of economic life that has, for too long, made ordinary Yemenis pay the price of decisions taken over their heads.”

Despite a broad de-escalation since the 2022 truce, he emphasized that “this relative calm cannot be taken for granted”. Nevertheless, he stressed that Yemenis’ future must not be held hostage by instability and that an inclusive political process must be pursued.

Humanitarian needs soar

Edem Wosornu, Director of the Crisis Response Division for the aid coordination office, OCHA, echoed Mr. Grundberg’s concerns for the 22 million and rising number of Yemenis requiring humanitarian aid. 

“This crisis is hitting the most vulnerable first and hardest,” she stressed, reporting that more than 18 million people face severe hunger and that two out of every three families skip meals daily.  “Women and children are hit first and fastest,” she added.

On that note, she reported that over two million children under five are acutely malnourished and over a million pregnant and breastfeeding women face life-threatening complications due to malnutrition. 

Furthermore, more than 19 million people lack access to healthcare and vaccine-preventable diseases are rapidly spreading. 

Aid operations have slowed as 73 UN staff remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthis, assets have been seized, access is severely restricted, and supply chains have been disrupted across the region.

“The gap between the resources we have and soaring humanitarian needs is widening,” she stressed. 

A decade of conflict has left people in Yemen “hanging by a thread”, warned Ms. Wosornu –