Even before fighting broke out in early 2015, Yemen was one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. With an average life expectancy below 64, the nation is ranked 177th out of 189 in the 2019 Human Development Index. 

Over five years of conflict have left thousands of civilians dead and 3.65 million internally displaced. Its impact on the country’s infrastructure has been devastating, with major overland routes and airports severely damaged.

Despite ongoing humanitarian assistance, 15.9 million people wake up hungry every day. It is estimated that, in the absence of food assistance, this number would go up to 20 million.

The coordinated response of the humanitarian community has prevented catastrophe in Yemen. But if these interventions stop or are severely hampered, the situation is likely to deteriorate quickly.

Malnutrition rates among women and children in Yemen remain among the highest in the world, with more than a million women and 2 million children requiring treatment for acute malnutrition. Of these children, around 360,000 are at risk of dying without treatment.

Access constraints continue to pose a serious challenge to WFP in several areas especially where conflict is intense. Despite access and security challenges, WFP and its partners manage to deliver assistance to the vast majority of vulnerable people in the country.

WFP is providing food assistance for those most urgently in need of support in what has emerged as one of the world’s worst hunger crises. The COVID-19 pandemic now poses a new threat to the people of Yemen. The economic impact of COVID-19 on countries like Yemen – struggling with poverty and devasted by conflict – may be more devastating than the disease itself

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30.5 million
population
20.1 million
people face hunger in the absence of food assistance
14.4 million
people need immediate assistance to sustain or save their lives
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What the World Food Programme is doing in Yemen

  • In-kind food assistance

    WFP provides over 12 million people with monthly food assistance through direct food distributions or vouchers that people can use at retailers in areas where the markets are functioning. Each family of six gets a monthly ration of wheat flour, pulses, vegetable oil, sugar and salt.

  • Cash assistance

    WFP is expanding cash assistance in areas of Yemen where markets are stable enough to provide for communities’ basic food needs. To support this programme WFP is registering beneficiaries on a new biometric platform. Through this system, people will receive cash transfers equivalent to US$12 per person per month, which will inject much-needed liquidity into the economy.

  • Nutrition assistance

    In response to high acute, moderate and severe malnutrition rates among children, WFP is providing nutritional support to 3 million pregnant and nursing women and children under 5.

  • Assistance to refugees

    WFP is currently providing food assistance to 8,500 refugees from the Horn of Africa in Kharaz camp in Lahj governorate.

  • School feeding

    WFP provides daily nutritious snacks – either date bars or high energy biscuits – to 680,000 school children. The programme focuses on areas that have been hard hit by conflict, leading to low levels of school attendance and poor food security.

  • Logistics

    The WFP-managed UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) continues to transport humanitarian aid workers between five key hubs in Yemen and the region. In addition, the Logistics Cluster facilitates regular sea and air transport for humanitarian cargo between Aden, Hodeidah, Sana’a and Djibouti.

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Partners and donors

Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Yemen is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:
  • Australia
    Austria
    Belgium
    Bulgaria
    Canada
  • China
    Czech Republic
    Estonia
    European Union
    Finland
  • France
    Germany
    Iceland
    Italy
    Japan
  • Luxembourg
    Netherlands
    Norway
    Poland
    Qatar
  • Republic of Korea
    KSA
    Russia
    Slovenia
    Sweden
  • Switzerland
    UN CERF
    United Arab Emirates
    United Kingdom
    UN other funds and agencies
  • USA
    Private donors

Find out more about the state of food security in Yemen

Visit the food security analysis page

Operations in Yemen

View all operations

Contacts

Sana'a

Diplomatic Area, Nowakshot Street, House No. 22 P.O. Box 7181 Sana'a - Republic of Yemen

Email

WFP.Sanaa@wfp.org

Phone: +967 1 214 100

Fax: +967 1 205 515

For media inquiries

WFP.Sanaa@wfp.org