Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger and malnutrition emergency on Friday, sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi forces — officially known as Ansar Allah — and government troops. Mobile health clinics have reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the deadliest form of malnutrition.
Of the nearly 2,900 children screened in areas with safe humanitarian access, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) revealed that over one in four were acutely malnourished, and around 200 were severely malnourished.
“This is only a glimpse of how devastating the situation is across Yemen; every day we are seeing more and more cases,” Akhil Iyer, the agency’s top official in the country, told journalists in Geneva on Friday.
Testimonies from some of the more than 130,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who have fled clashes in the southwest illustrate the severe impact of the fighting on civilians in recent weeks, following years of food and nutrition crises.
“We spoke to Haifa, a young mother who fled Yemen's west coast as well, and she told us that the sounds of gunfire were closing in on her house, as her house was shaking. She told us that she didn't have time to think, she just knew that she had to run and run quickly with her family,” the UNICEF official said.
Today, Haifa and her family “live in extreme heat, in [one] a side of a tent”, in Al Firdous displacement camp near Aden. They have no way of earning money, and they struggle to find food and medicine, Iyer explained.
“She pointed out to us that displacement has stripped them of their dignity. This is in fact what displacement does.”
Food and shelter are still the most urgent needs of IDPs. Many displacement sites are overcrowded, which limits privacy and safety, particularly for women and girls, and heightens the risk of sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking.
While briefing journalists from Aden, Iyer described the plight of four-year-old Taha, whom he found receiving treatment at a UNICEF-supported mobile clinic.
“His family had just fled violence in Mokha district, some 200 kilometers [124 miles] away, leaving behind their home and belongings. His mother told us, ‘We escaped with nothing. My only fear was that I would lose my son before finding help.’ Taha’s story is sadly not unique.”
Since the start of August, more than 138,000 people — including over 70,000 children — have been displaced, marking the highest level of new displacement since the 2022 truce. The majority — about 75,000 people — have been displaced in southwestern Taiz governorate, where they are unable to move to safer areas "because of fighting, blocked roads, or lack of transportation," Iyer continued.
Women and girls are especially impacted by the upsurge in hostilities. Nearly 3,000 pregnant women among the displaced have limited or no access to life-saving care, and some 200 of them are expected to give birth this month. Aid agencies supporting women and girls have run out of dignity kits and urgently need thousands more.
Additionally, families are fleeing across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 3,700 people arrived in Djibouti in September.
Since early September, UNICEF has verified that at least 15 children have been killed and 14 more have been injured, primarily due to shelling attacks. Three more children are still missing.
“Behind every one of those children is a parent living through the unimaginable – grief, fear, or the agony of not knowing,” Iyer stressed.
Yemen’s children are facing horrific conditions. Even before the current escalation, it was projected that more than 2.2 million children under five in Yemen would be acutely malnourished this year, with more than half a million suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
SAM, also known as severe wasting, is the deadliest form of malnutrition. Children diagnosed with SAM require immediate, intensive treatment because they are extremely vulnerable to life-threatening complications and have a high mortality rate if they receive inadequate care.
Malnutrition also weakens the immune system, making children more susceptible to infectious diseases.
Yet Yemen’s health system is on the verge of collapse. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), out of more than 5,400 assessed health facilities, only three in five are fully functioning. Only six percent of assessed facilities offer full trauma care services, raising concerns as trauma needs rise sharply with the escalation.
Healthcare is crucial for those exhausted by repeated displacement, particularly amid the spread of preventable diseases, including measles, acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, and cholera. However, reaching communities with the greatest health needs is becoming "increasingly difficult," according to WHO.
In 90 of the 105 priority districts in northern Yemen, UN operations have been suspended, explained WHO's Amna Smailbegović.
“The disruption has a direct impact on essential services, including outpatient consultation, skilled deliveries and child health services,” she added.
Meanwhile, UNICEF and other aid agencies lack safe and unimpeded access to 65-70 percent of children because Houthi opposition forces control the areas where they live.
“But humanitarian assistance cannot substitute for protection. We cannot keep asking children to survive what they should never have been exposed to in the first place,” UNICEF’s Iyer said.
“All parties must protect children and civilian infrastructure, uphold international humanitarian law, and facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.”
The UN and its humanitarian partner organizations continue their efforts to reach as many people in need as possible and have provided assistance to over 106,000 individuals since the beginning of August. However, supplies are running low, and additional funding and safe, sustained access are urgently needed to keep pace with the growing needs.
As aid organizations struggle to reach vulnerable populations, the appalling impact of the escalation on civilians is drawing fierce condemnation from the UN's human rights leadership.
UN human rights chief decries deepening conflict and its appalling impact on civilians
On Thursday, Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief, said he was appalled by the growing toll on civilians from the intensifying conflict in Yemen between Ansar Allah and the Yemeni government and their respective allies. He expressed concern about the increased suffering and fear experienced by the already exhausted population.
According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), ground fighting, artillery fire, and airstrikes — including drone and missile strikes — have killed or wounded at least 125 civilians since Houthi forces launched a new wave of attacks at the start of August.
“As if the people of Yemen haven’t already endured enough misery, civilians are now bearing the brunt of this latest upsurge in fighting. Many are being forced to flee for their lives,” Türk said.
“Civilians must never be targeted, and their protection must be the overriding priority.”
Since the start of August, OHCHR has documented the killings of 32 civilians, including 15 children and three women. The Office has also documented three reported attacks by Ansar Allah forces on sites hosting IDPs in Marib Governorate: one in early August and two in early September.
“Warring parties must distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives; respect the principles of proportionality and precaution; and take all feasible measures to prevent or minimize civilian harm,” Türk said.
“Nor do warnings or the designation of so-called ‘kill zones’, as recently declared by the Government of Yemen, remove the protection afforded to civilians and civilian objects.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights joined the calls for all parties to allow and facilitate the rapid, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief to civilians in need.
“People fleeing the fighting, as well as those already displaced, must be protected and have safe access to food, water, shelter, healthcare and other essential services,” he said.
He urged all parties to the conflict to avoid further escalation and to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. He also called on them to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those in need.
“The people of Yemen cannot withstand another full-scale conflict,” the High Commissioner added.
The military escalation comes as hunger, malnutrition, loss of resilience, and collapsing humanitarian funding have already pushed millions of Yemenis deeper into crisis. Before the recent escalation, an estimated 22.3 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance.