The acute food insecurity and malnutrition situation in Yemen has deteriorated further in 2022, with 17.4 million people (IPC Phase 3 and above) in need of assistance as of now, increasing to 19 million starting June to the end of the year. Of greatest concern is the 31,000 people facing extreme hunger levels (IPC Phase 5 Catastrophe) now, rising to 161,000 by June. In addition, approximately 2.2 million children under the age of five, including 538,000 severely malnourished, and about 1.3 million pregnant and lactating women are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition over the course of 2022. The severity increases dramatically in the projection period for both food insecurity and acute malnutrition, with 86 districts moving to higher IPC Phases, 82 of which move from Phase 3 to Phase 4.

Conflict and economic crisis remain the main drivers of acute food insecurity and malnutrition in Yemen, further exacerbated by the instability of humanitarian assistance. The outlook for 2022 indicates that both features will continue, with a likelihood of further escalation of fighting in critical hotspots, thereby leading to further displacement. In addition, as a result of the protracted conflict, access to public services has been brought to a near-halt resulting in delays/cuts of salaries, poor access to health services, inadequate access to water, and other services such as education, energy, etc. remain severely compromised.

At the household level, primary underlying causes of acute food insecurity and malnutrition include increased food prices amidst reduced incomes and labour opportunities, contributing to poor diet in terms of quantity and quality, as well as low coverage of sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices, which have led to a high disease burden. As the economic crisis rages, more households are coping through erosion of their livelihoods (such as the sale of productive assets) and the adoption of crisis strategies (mainly a high reliance on assistance). Furthermore, households are increasingly experiencing a vicious debt cycle. They are taking on higher debt levels every month and maxing out their credit levels to cover basic needs. With such levels of negative coping strategies, many households are precariously exposed, and any sudden shocks at unprecedented levels would further worsen food insecurity and acute malnutrition to extreme levels.

• Ending the war and economic destabilisation: Parties involved in the conflict to immediately cease armed activities and hostilities to protect Yemeni lives and livelihoods. Relevant stakeholders should lift the restrictions of the ports to abate the burden of fuel shortages, expedite the movement of much-needed goods, and reduce their prices. There is a further urgent need to allow and advocate for an unimpeded flow of humanitarian and commercial imports that serve essential needs into and within the country. Ending the war in Yemen will also pave the way to reconstruction and focus on longer-term investments to tackle the underlying causes of food and nutrition insecurity. Furthermore, an urgent review of the economic and fiscal policies is required to restore confidence and support the regeneration of the foreign currency reserves.
• Provide life-saving humanitarian assistance: To stop and reverse inexorable deterioration, donors to provide urgently needed resources to enable sourcing and delivery of critical life-saving food assistance to populations facing large food consumption gaps.
• Provide livelihood support and diversification: Considering the diminished resilience of people, the high level of vulnerability to shocks, and the chronic nature of food insecurity and malnutrition, close collaboration between humanitarian & development programmes are needed to tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition and enhance resilience.
• Improve inter-sectoral programming: Advocate for and support an integrated multisectoral approach for programming focused on the four key sectors; food security, nutrition, health and WASH. These would include: continuing integrated primary health care services including immunisation, hygiene promotion and WASH interventions at facility and community level; supporting integrated livelihood and nutrition preventive and curative programmes as well as programming through general food assistance (food, vouchers and cash) as well as supporting livelihoods, promoting kitchen gardening at household & community level and supporting cash programming.
• Strengthen monitoring and early warning systems: Joint and coordinated efforts in monitoring food security and nutrition indicators for early action/early warning are essential. Given the fragile context, the risk factors and key drivers of food insecurity and acute malnutrition should be monitored regularly. Relevant stakeholders should strengthen their monitoring systems in a coordinated manner, improve and expand data collection and sharing, and ensure timely analysis to comprehend the extent of the situation and ascertain when to trigger early action.