Aden, Yemen, May 20, 2025 – After more than a decade of severe crisis and conflict, people in Yemen are facing what may be their toughest year so far. Conflict, economic collapse and climate shocks continue to drive humanitarian needs. Aid is drying up due to severe funding cuts. Airstrikes have resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and damaged critical infrastructure.
As leaders gather tomorrow for the seventh Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting (SOM VII), UN agencies and international and national NGOs operating in Yemen call on the international community to take urgent, collective action to prevent catastrophic conditions from taking hold.
Almost five months into 2025, the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is less than 10 per cent funded, preventing critical aid delivery to millions of people across the country, including women and girls, displaced communities, children, refugees, migrants and other vulnerable and marginalized groups who are bearing the brunt of the crisis.
Despite funding shortfalls and other challenges such as insecurity, access constraints and the continued detention of humanitarian personnel by the de facto authorities, aid agencies are on the ground and delivering. With support from donors, we are fighting hunger, disease and deprivation, and providing life-saving assistance and services including protection, education, shelter and clean water. Local NGOs and civil society organizations play a critical role in these efforts, often serving as the first and sometimes only responders in remote and hard-to-reach areas, having gained the trust of communities over years of engagement.
Time and again, we have seen how donor support saves lives. Their generous contributions have prevented famine, alleviated suffering and protected the most vulnerable. Today, this solidarity is even more critical. We urgently appeal to donors to scale up flexible, timely, and predictable funding for the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. Without immediate action, the vital gains achieved through years of dedicated assistance could be lost.
We also urge the international community to seize the opportunity presented by the SOM to help Yemenis rebuild their lives in dignity. In addition to sustained humanitarian aid, development assistance must be scaled up to prevent communities from sliding into more acute levels of humanitarian needs, ensure access to essential services and generate economic and livelihood opportunities.
Strengthened engagement is also essential to stop the conflict that has destroyed so many lives and put Yemen back on a path toward peace and recovery. In the meantime, it is critical to minimize the impacts of conflict on civilians, and we appeal for action to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, including protection of civilians and humanitarian access to all those in need.
Now more than ever, swift and resolute support is crucial to prevent Yemen from sliding deeper into crisis and move towards a lasting peace.
