March 27, 2025 —  As Yemen marks ten years of conflict and crisis, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that a widening chasm between rising humanitarian needs and the funding required to alleviate them, risks leaving millions of Yemenis without access to food, healthcare and protection services. 

After a decade of crisis, humanitarian needs in Yemen continue to rise. In 2025, an estimated 19.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection—an increase of nearly 7% compared to 2024. Across the country, more than 83% of the population now lives in poverty.  

More than 4.5 million people are now internally displaced. With most displaced multiple times over the past decade. IRC teams are witnessing rising demand in displacement sites, where families face limited access to food, healthcare and clean water. At a time when malnutrition rates remain among the highest in the world. These figures reflect the compounding toll of a crisis that has deepened year after year, leaving families with fewer resources, fewer services and no safe alternatives. 

Despite these growing needs, the humanitarian response remains critically underfunded. The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) seeks $2.47 billion to reach 10.5 million people—but as of March 2025, it is just 5% funded. In 2024, the response received just over half of what was required, forcing aid agencies to scale back essential support such as food distributions and limit access to clean water and other services. Expected reductions in U.S. contributions, which accounted for more than half of total humanitarian funding to Yemen in 2024, threaten to widen this gap even further, placing millions at greater risk of hunger, disease, and further displacement. 

For families like Abdulnasser Abdullah’s, who have endured years of displacement and insecurity, humanitarian aid has been critical to survival. Abdulnasser, a displaced father living in Al Qataysh camp, shared,

“I remember the first time I heard the sounds of war. I felt a fear I had never known before. We lost our home, our livelihood, and most importantly, our sense of security. Living in this camp is a daily struggle with no privacy or safety. But the healthcare assistance we have received has made a real difference—especially since we can’t afford basic medication or even a simple meal.” 

Caroline Sekyewa, IRC’s Country Director in Yemen, said, 

“For ten years, Yemenis have endured relentless conflict, economic collapse, and limited access to lifesaving health and nutrition services. Humanitarian aid has been their lifeline-preventing disease outbreaks, delivering healthcare, responding to natural disasters, and helping families to survive. For donor governments to consider reducing or removing that support is not just short-sighted, it puts millions of lives at risk.  

“Yemen now stands on a precipice and without urgent support, we risk reversing years of hard-fought gains. Ultimately, humanitarian aid on its own cannot end the suffering being felt by millions in Yemen. After a decade of crisis, political solutions and economic recovery are now needed more than ever to secure long-term stability. Yet the fact is that today, aid is what stands between life and death for millions. Last year, humanitarian organizations, in spite of a huge funding shortfall, reached more than 8 million people in need across the country. Imagine what could be achieved if funding finally matched needs. 

“2025 must be a turning point in this crisis. With needs steadily increasing, we call upon all donors to step up and ensure that this year’s humanitarian needs and response plan is fully funded.”  

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Notes to editors: 

About IRC Yemen 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been working in Yemen since 2012 and rapidly scaled up programming in 2015 to address greater humanitarian needs caused by the conflict, violence, food insecurity, and economic blockade through the provision of emergency aid, critical healthcare and nutrition, economic empowerment, WASH and protection programming for women and children.  

From 2022 to 2024, IRC reached over 5 million people across 11 crisis-affected governorates in Yemen, with 1.7 million people, including  more than one million women reached in 2024 alone. Our work aligns with the IRC’s vision to support conflict and crisis-affected populations—especially women, girls, migrants, and marginalized groups—by providing life-saving services, meeting basic needs, and building resilience through integrated approaches.