The food security situation in the Government-controlled areas of southern Yemen is dire, with nearly half of the population acutely food insecure and struggling to find their next meal. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), and UNICEF have warned that the food insecurity crisis is likely to worsen in the months ahead. 

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partial update, released today, paints a grim picture for southern governorates. Between May 2025 and August 2025, around 4.95 million people are facing Crisis-level food insecurity or worse (IPC Phase 3+), including 1.5 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). This marks an increase of 370,000 people suffering from severe food insecurity compared to the period November 2024 to February 2025.

Looking ahead, the situation is expected to deteriorate even further. Between September 2025 and February 2026, an additional 420,000 people could fall into IPC Phase 3 or worse, if urgent and sustained assistance is not provided. That would bring the total number of severely food-insecure people in southern governorate areas to 5.38 million—more than half of the population.

Multiple overlapping crises continue to drive food insecurity, including sustained economic decline, currency depreciation in southern governorates, conflict, and increasingly severe weather events. The delayed planting season, heightened likelihood of flood risk in July, and the spread of plant and livestock diseases, especially desert locusts, are further expected to compound pressures on an already fragile situation.