People of Yemen are starving in silence, warns the International Rescue Committee (IRC), as funding reductions and ongoing insecurity compounds crisis.
Yemen is entering a dangerous new phase of food security with over half the population, 18 million people, expected to face worsening levels of food insecurity in early 2026. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projections warn that an additional one million people are at risk of facing life-threatening hunger (IPC Phase 3+). Pockets of famine impacting over 40,000 people are expected in four districts within the next two months - the worst outlook for the country since 2022.
Years of conflict and displacement have devastated livelihoods and severely restricted access to basic health and nutrition services. This has been compounded by a nationwide economic collapse that has eroded household purchasing power, alongside a sharp decline in humanitarian assistance. By the end of 2025, the humanitarian response was less than 25% funded – the lowest level in a decade- while lifesaving nutrition assistance received less than 10% of the funding required.
This rapid deterioration - driven by catastrophic humanitarian funding cuts, climate shocks, economic collapse, and compounded by recent insecurity - calls for urgent action to reverse the unfolding catastrophe.
