Famine in Yemen (2016–present)

Since 2016, a food insecurity crisis has been ongoing in Yemen which began during the Yemeni Civil War.
The UN estimates that the war has caused an estimated 130,000 deaths from indirect causes which include lack of food, health services, and infrastructure as of December 2020. In 2018, Save the Children estimated that 85,000 children have died due to starvation in the three years prior. In May 2020, UNICEF described Yemen as "the largest humanitarian crisis in the world", and estimated that 80% of the population, over 24 million people, were in need of humanitarian assistance. In September 2022, the World Food Programme estimated that 17.4 million Yemenis struggled with food insecurity, and projected that number would increase to 19 million by the end of the year, describing this level of hunger as "unprecedented." The crisis is being compounded by an outbreak of cholera, which is resulting in over 3000 deaths between 2015 and mid 2017. While the country is in crisis and multiple regions have been classified as being in IPC Phase 4 (humanitarian emergency), an actual classification of famine conditions was averted in 2018 and again in early 2019 due to international relief efforts. In January 2021, two out of 33 regions were classified as IPC 4 (humanitarian emergency) while 26 were classified as IPC 3 (acute crisis).

The main cause of the crisis is the ongoing Yemeni Civil War. Aid often cannot effectively reach the population because of the ongoing civil war and the blockade of Yemen by Saudi Arabia which started in 2015. The blockade was intensified in November 2017 with the closure of all sea and land ports and then partially but not fully lifted at the end of the month, and some humanitarian supplies were allowed into the country.

According to the 2019 Global Hunger Index, Yemen has the second-highest hunger score in the world, after the Central African Republic with a slight worsening of the hunger score since 2000 (increase from 43.2 to 45.9). For 2020, GHI estimates that the prevalence of wasting in children under 5 has increased from 13.3% to 15.5% and the prevalence of stunting has increased from 46.6% to 53.2% while overall child mortality has slightly decreased in the period of the civil war (compared to 2010).

Background

Yemen's civil war began in 2014 following a fight between the internationally recognized government forces and the Houthis. Iran's government offered military support to the Houthi, leading to the seizure of Yemen's capital. After a series of failed negotiations, the rebels took over the Presidential palace in January 2015. President Abd Rabbu Mansour was forced to resign together with his government officials. Towards the beginning of March of the same year, the United States and Saudi Arabia implemented a series of economic sanctions and a Saudi-led coalition began airstrikes against the Houthi rebels.

The war has affected civilians negatively, leading to a severe economic decline, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, and leaving over 66 percent of the people in serious need of humanitarian assistance. Prior to the existing crisis, Yemen was the most vulnerable country in the Middle East. It ranked high among the world's most malnourished, and 50 percent of its population lived in impoverished conditions with limited access to safe water.

Causes

Saudi Arabian-led intervention

The famine is the direct result of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and blockade. Yemen was already the most impoverished

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