Yemen is entering what aid agencies describe as its most severe food crisis since 2022, as deep funding cuts, renewed conflict, and economic collapse converge to push millions toward acute hunger.
More than half of the population, roughly 18 million people, are expected to face worsening food insecurity in early 2026, according to projections cited by the International Rescue Committee.
The assessment signals a sharp deterioration after years of fragile gains and comes amid escalating political and security tensions in the country.
New projections under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system show an additional one million people at risk of life-threatening hunger.
Aid groups warn that pockets of famine could affect more than 40,000 people across four districts within the next two months.
Years of war and displacement have eroded livelihoods and limited access to health and nutrition services.
Those pressures are now compounded by nationwide economic collapse that has reduced purchasing power and driven up food prices.
Humanitarian assistance has fallen sharply, with Yemen’s response plan less than 25 percent funded by the end of 2025.
Life-saving nutrition programmes have received under 10 percent of the required funding, according to the IRC.
“This rapid deterioration – driven by catastrophic humanitarian funding cuts, climate shocks, economic collapse, and compounded by recent insecurity – calls for urgent action to reverse the unfolding catastrophe,” the organisation said.
The United Nations has issued similar warnings, saying humanitarian conditions will worsen further in 2026 as funding declines.
U.N. officials estimate that 21 million people will require assistance this year, up from 19.5 million the previous year.
Western donors, including the United States, have reduced aid as they shift spending priorities, creating a funding shortfall for relief operations.
In 2025, about $680 million was provided to U.N. efforts in Yemen, roughly 28 percent of the intended target.
At the same time, renewed political tensions are adding to instability.
In December, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council seized territory in southern and eastern Yemen before Saudi-backed forces regained much of the area.
Analysts warn that unresolved rivalries between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates risk pulling Yemen back into broader conflict, further compounding a hunger crisis that aid agencies say is already accelerating.