Having been adrift for years and undermined by foreign interference, Yemen is facing one of the world’s most serious humanitarian crises. The international community must act urgently, warn representatives from Action Against Hunger France, CARE, Médecins du Monde and Mehad in an opinion piece in *Le Monde*.
In 2026, 22 million people – nearly half the population – are in need of emergency assistance in Yemen, according to the United Nations, and 18 million are acutely food insecure. Among them, 2.2 million children under the age of five are malnourished, 500,000 of whom are severely malnourished. These figures reflect extreme realities: children too weak to walk, families forced to choose between food and medical care, parents with nothing but tree leaves to feed their children or walking tens of kilometres to find a health centre that is still open.
The healthcare system is on its last legs: 41 per cent of healthcare facilities are either non-operational or only partially operational. Drug shortages, staff shortages and power cuts are depriving 19 million people of access to essential healthcare. Against this backdrop, cholera, measles, diphtheria and dengue fever are spreading rapidly, and every interruption in funding reduces the provision of vaccinations, treatments and prevention measures.
The regional military escalation is making the situation even worse: rising fuel and food prices are hitting a country that relies on imports. Essential goods are becoming unaffordable for millions of families. NGOs are seeing their costs rise whilst funding is falling.
Even more worrying is the fact that, in 2025, the humanitarian response plan was funded at just 25 per cent – one of the lowest levels of the decade – leading to the closure of facilities, the suspension of nutrition programmes and a slowdown in prevention campaigns. In 2025, more than 2,800 nutritional programmes were suspended across the country. Children are paying the price: malnutrition causes lasting damage to their physical and cognitive development.
The governorate of Abyan, in the south-west of the country, is facing a particularly severe crisis, especially in the district of Lawdar. This region is home to a growing population, largely made up of displaced people. However, access to healthcare remains very limited there due to a severe shortage of supplies. Therapeutic food for malnourished children is out of stock, as a result of reduced funding and logistical disruptions. Between December 2025 and March 2026, paediatric consultations fell by 43.5 per cent, and the number of children under five receiving treatment by 39 per cent. This decline is not a sign of improvement: families are no longer able to travel to hospital, even though a third of the country’s mortality is linked to nutrition and maternal and child health.
Reinvesting in healthcare
In the north, restrictions and cuts in funding have led several international NGOs to suspend their operations. The United Nations has suspended certain activities. Médecins du Monde continues to provide more than 15,000 consultations a month, nearly half of which are for displaced people. Access to healthcare is particularly difficult for women, due to social norms requiring them to be accompanied by a man, which delays or prevents them from receiving care, including in cases of gender-based violence. The centres receiving support experience several monthly shortages of essential medicines.
Prevention remains essential: a collapse in purchasing power, food insecurity and a lack of dietary diversity limit the beneficial effects of treatment. Cash transfer programmes would provide a more effective response to these challenges.
In the face of this emergency, donors must reinvest heavily in the humanitarian response, particularly in the health sector. France must allocate a significant proportion of its humanitarian funding to this cause and encourage its European partners to do the same. Supporting medical facilities, funding centres for the treatment of malnutrition, ensuring access to essential medicines and stepping up the fight against epidemics are vital to prevent an even more dramatic collapse.
Yemen must not be allowed to become the Middle East’s forgotten crisis. Behind the dwindling funding, millions of lives are at stake. The international community can still prevent an even greater catastrophe, but every month of inaction brings the country closer to a breaking point with long-lasting consequences. In Yemen, the emergency cannot wait any longer.
Perrine Benoist, Co-Chief Executive of Action Against Hunger France; Emanuela Croce, Co-Chief Executive of CARE; Alexandre Morel, Co-Chief Executive of CARE; Sandrine Simon, Chief Executive of Médecins du Monde; Mego Terzian, Chief Executive of Mehad.
