.png)
Yemen “not out of the woods,” UN Relief Chief tells Security Council, citing malnutrition and aid cuts
- Tom Fletcher, OCHA
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Yemen by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
New York, 14 May 2025
As delivered
Thank you, Mr. President.
I thank Special Envoy Grundberg for his briefing and his tireless and creative work. I also join him in condemning the arbitrary detention of our colleagues in Yemen and in calling for concerted and sustained advocacy by all Member States to secure the immediate release of our UN and NGO colleagues.
I also share Special Envoy’s relief at the cessation of hostilities in Yemen and the Red Sea between the United States and the Houthis, including what we hope to be an end to air strikes.
But let’s be clear: Yemen is not out of the woods. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating and those most in peril are the country’s children.
The numbers say it all:
Half of Yemen’s children – or 2.3 million – are malnourished. 600,000 of them severely so.
Malnutrition is not just about hunger. It attacks immunity, leaving children vulnerable to deadly infections like pneumonia and diarrhea, both of which are leading causes of child mortality in Yemen.
Only 69 per cent of children under one year of age are fully immunized, and 20 per cent of them have received no vaccines at all – one of the worst rates in the world.
As a result, vaccine-preventable diseases are compounding the humanitarian crisis. Cholera and measles cases are rising. Last year Yemen accounted for over a third of global cholera cases and 18 per cent of related deaths, while also reporting one of the highest measles burdens globally.
That’s not all. Children also have to contend with fields littered with landmines, and schools emptied of teachers, books and opportunities.
And of course, children are not alone in being disproportionately impacted. As I have briefed previously, malnutrition also now affects 1.4 million pregnant and breastfeeding women, placing mothers and newborns at grave risk.
Overall, 9.6 million women and girls are in severe need of life-saving humanitarian support, facing hunger, violence, and a collapsing healthcare system. Despite this, women and girls remain on the frontlines of recovery and survival, and I applaud this Council’s commitment to supporting them and their struggle to have their fundamental rights respected.
However, Mr. President, we are running out of time and resources. Yemen’s 2025 humanitarian response plan is barely 9 per cent funded – less than half of what we received at the same time last year. These shortfalls have very real consequences.
Nearly 400 health facilities – including 64 hospitals – will stop operating, impacting nearly 7 million people.
Funding for 700 midwives we are supporting right now is quickly running out.
20 therapeutic feeding centres and 2,200 therapeutic feeding programmes have already been forced to close down – denying life-saving nutrition treatment to more than 350,000 malnourished children and mothers in areas controlled by the de facto authorities.
We expect pipeline gaps as early as June or July – right when malnutrition numbers will peak.
And while I note this Council’s proper concern for survivors of gender-based violence, funding cuts mean that many survivors no longer have access to life-saving healthcare, psychosocial support, and legal aid.
Almost 1 million women and girls have lost access to safe spaces and associated support networks.
Later this month, senior officials from across the donor community will convene in Brussels to assess the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
We count on them, we count on you, to recommit their collective support with concrete contributions to the humanitarian appeal at this critical moment.
Mr. President,
Last month saw yet further challenges on the road towards a more peaceful future for Yemen.
According to local authorities and open-source reporting, almost 1,000 civilians have been killed or injured in Yemen since the beginning of the year, a significant number of them since the resumption of air strikes in mid-March.
Strikes that impacted Ras Issa port and a detention centre in Sa’ada resulted in hundreds of casualties, including injuries to first responders.
Civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, has been damaged. The Hodeida port – a vital access point for food and medicine – and Sana’a airport were also badly damaged, in addition to power stations and other critical infrastructure.
I echo the Secretary-General’s appeal for respect for international humanitarian law and urge all parties to protect civilians and the infrastructure on which they rely for their basic needs.
Mr. President,
This is a tough time to be a humanitarian. But when backed to do so, we can deliver on your behalf.
Over the past four weeks, health partners have deployed surgical teams to hospitals in Sana’a and Al Hodeidah, supported mobile medical teams, and delivered trauma units to hospitals in eight governorates.
Life-saving cash assistance has continued for 4,000 families (roughly 28,000 people), enabling them to access essential needs like food, medicine, and shelter.
Roughly 20,000 health consultations are conducted monthly for migrants. Water networks have been extended in Marib City to provide displaced families with clean water.
This builds on solid progress made since the beginning of the year.
In the first quarter of 2025, almost 150 humanitarian partners provided lifesaving assistance across Yemen’s 333 districts.
Nearly 5 million people received emergency food assistance; 1.2 million received clean water and hygiene services; and 154,000 children resumed learning through temporary classrooms, supplies, and teacher support.
Thank you for the support that allowed us to reach them.
Noor, 16 months old, from a small community in Lahj governorate was severely malnourished.
A visiting community health volunteer, supported by an NGO partner, diagnosed her, and referred her to a nearby health facility, where – with time and treatment – her condition improved, and she has recovered fully.
Clearly, this work, with the support of this Council and the Member States, is making a difference to individuals, many individuals. But we can’t stop here.
A child may recover from malnutrition only to be re-admitted later because their family cannot access clean water.
A displaced family may find a safe harbor from violence, only to be uprooted shortly thereafter when fighting again reaches their doorstep.
Yes, the people of Yemen need aid. But they also need peace. They need a respite from the violence and economic hardships which have caused so much suffering over the last decade. They need the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
Mr. President,
The cuts are, as I’ve described, biting hard. People are dying.
Here, as elsewhere, we are determined to save as many lives as we can with the money we have. Over the past two months, we have overhauled our response in Yemen, aligned with the global Humanitarian Reset that I set out in March.
We are substantially reducing operational costs so more money can be spent on saving lives. We have prioritized our humanitarian appeal to identify the most urgent life-saving work. We are doubling our investments in local partners.
We’ve also simplified our coordination structures, bringing decision-making closer to the communities we are there to serve. Their voices will drive the Reset.
Because behind the numbers are people. We know that there are many we will not reach. But in the six months that I have been in this job, I have seen firsthand the relentless tenacity that drives humanitarians not to give up.
Yemen is no different. Despite funding shortfalls, surging needs, and the risks we face. We serve people like Noor.
Mr. President,
As ever, I conclude with three asks of this Council.
Firstly, please take action to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, including protection of civilians and humanitarian access to all those in need.
Second, please provide scaled-up, flexible, funding to sustain critical aid operations.
And third and as the Special Envoy has underlined back efforts towards lasting peace.
Thank you.
(c) 2025, OCHA
Comments