Yemen’s hunger crisis has hit a breaking point. Seventeen million people now struggle to find enough food, and that number could jump to 18 million by September without urgent help, senior UN officials warned the Security Council on Wednesday, according to a press release. Over one million children under five are starving, putting them at risk of lasting harm to their bodies and minds. Hans Grundberg, the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, says the country’s economy has become the main battlefield in a war that’s dragged on for more than a decade.
The fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces has destroyed more than lives—it’s crushed the economy too. Yemen’s currency is worthless, and people can’t afford basic needs. “The little money people do have in their pockets is either falling in value or literally falling apart,” Grundberg told diplomats. Tom Fletcher, who oversees UN humanitarian work, says conditions are the worst they’ve been since a brief ceasefire in early 2022.
The mess gets worse because of what’s happening across the Middle East. Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea, and Israel has struck back at Yemen’s ports and power plants. But there’s a bright spot: both sides recently agreed to share water management in Taiz province, which will help more than 600,000 people get clean drinking water. Grundberg believes talks like these—not more fighting—are Yemen’s only real hope.
The UN envoy pushed world leaders to keep Yemen a priority and make sure aid groups have enough money to keep working. He stressed that Yemen can’t wait for other regional conflicts to end before finding peace.
“Yemen’s future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and to give its people the hope and dignity they so deeply deserve,” Grundberg said.
