Yemen hunger crisis reaches record levels as conflict escalates, WFP warns

• Over 150,000 people were recently displaced, adding to a national crisis where 18.3 million people face acute food insecurity.
• Fighting has blocked WFP and partner organizations from reaching 350,000 people in need across parts of Ta'iz and Hodeidah.

The expanding conflict in Yemen is driving a rapid acceleration of the country’s hunger crisis, creating severe immediate hardship locally while threatening global food supply chains, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.

Speaking at a United Nations briefing in Geneva, WFP Assistant Executive Director Matthew Hollingworth reported that nearly three out of four (%74) households in accessible areas are currently unable to meet basic food needs, a record high for 2026.

“Our own monitoring in areas of Yemen where we can operate already shows that almost three out of four households are unable to meet their basic food needs today. That’s a record number for this year in just a few weeks, Hollingworth stated.

Adding that “our colleagues on the ground are seeing families arriving, especially in Lahj, outside Aden, and around Taiz city [further north], many after walking days without any water or food.”

Acute food insecurity now affects 18.3 million people across Yemen, including 2.2 million acutely malnourished children under age five.

Hollingworth also called for the immediate and unconditional release of 73 UN personnel currently detained by Houthi de facto authorities, including 38 WFP employees.

The latest wave of fighting has displaced over 150,000 people in recent weeks, particularly around Ta'iz and Lahj, where displaced families are arriving after days of travel without food or water.

While WFP reached over 70,000 newly displaced individuals in recent weeks and continues serving 2.4 million people in government-held areas, mounting operational barriers and front-line combat have cut off aid access to 350,000 people in parts of Ta'iz and Hodeidah.

Beyond local impacts, Hollingworth cautioned that instability along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical maritime bottleneck connecting Red Sea trade, compounds disruptions across global supply routes for food, fuel, and fertilizer.

WFP has reallocated funds from November aid distributions to maintain current operations but urgently requires $109 million for emergency response and $158 million to sustain core programs through March 2027.