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  • Mar 2015

    On 19 March, suicide bombings target two mosques in Sana’a, killing nearly 150 and injuring 350. Houthi/Saleh forces advance south towards Taizz, Lahj and Aden. On 26 March, a Saudi-led military coalition begins air strikes.

  • May 2015

    Five-day humanitarian pause begins. Frequent violations are reported.

  • Jul 2015

    UN designates Yemen a “level-three” emergency – the highest level.

  • Jul 2015 to Aug 2015

    Front lines in the conflict shift significantly. Coalition-supported forces take control of Aden in late July and expand to much of southern Yemen by mid-August. Major clashes, backed by air strikes, erupt in Taizz, and the city comes under siege.

  • Aug 2015

    Air strikes hit Hudaydah Port, destroying critical infrastructure at Yemen’s largest Port. Before the crisis, Hudaydah Port handled the majority of Yemen’s imports – essential to the flow of food, medicine and fuel into the country.

  • Sep 2015 to Oct 2015

    Apparent air strikes hit two wedding parties, killing more than 150 people. The first attack occurred on 28 September in Taizz and killed more than 130 people. The second hit Dhamar, killing at least 23.

  • Oct 2015

    Islamic State claims responsibility for attacks targeting Coalition and Government of Yemen officials at the Qasr Hotel in Aden and worshippers at a mosque in Sana’a. At least 22 people were killed in the attacks.

  • Nov 2015

    Two consecutive cyclones batter the southern coast and Socotra island, killing at least ten and causing widespread flooding. Cyclones making landfall in Yemen is fairly rare – two in rapid succession is nearly unprecedented.

  • Dec 2015

    Ceasefire comes into force as parties begin UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland. Frequent ceasefire violations are reported.

  • Jan 2016

    Formal ceasefire ends as peace talks conclude without result. Clashes and air strikes escalate across the country.

  • Apr 2016

    A renewed cessation of hostilities comes into force. After several delays, UN-sponsored peace talks begin in Kuwait on 21 April.

  • May 2016

    Heavy rains in May and August cause flooding in seven governorates. Partners estimate that 70 people are killed in the floods, with more than 35,000 needing assistance.

  • Aug 2016

    Peace talks in Kuwait adjourn without agreement on 6 August. Air strikes hit a crowded market in Sana’a, a school in Sa’ada and an MSF-supported hospital in Hajjah. Islamic State militants kill at least 60 people in a suicide attack in Aden.

  • Aug 2016

    Sana’a airport closed to civilian traffic.

  • Sep 2016

    An air strike hits a drilling rig constructing a water well in Sana’a. Follow-up strikes hit first responders arriving on the scene.

  • Oct 2016

    A rocket attack hits a civilian area of Taizz, killing 10 people – mostly children. Indiscriminate shelling into populated civilian areas of Taizz by Houthi-affiliated forces has occurred consistently since August 2015.

  • Oct 2016

    The Ministry of Health in Sana’a announces a cholera outbreak. As of 25 October, 51 cases had been confirmed in nine governorates, and 1,148 suspected cases were being investigated.

  • Oct 2016

    Multiple air strikes on a community hall in Sana’a kill at least 140 people and injure more than 600 in one of the worst single-incident casualty events of the conflict.

  • Oct 2016

    The UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General delivers a proposed road map to parties to the conflict.
Photo credit: OCHA, UNICEF/Julien Harneis 2024

BREAKDOWN OF PEOPLE IN NEED

Data was updated on 31 April 2017

FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURE

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

14.1 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

7 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • 14.1 million people are food insecure, including more than 7 million – or a quarter of the total population – who are severely food insecure. This represents a 33 per cent increase since late 2014.
  • As of September 2016, the average price of the monthly minimum food basket was 20 per cent higher than the before the crisis escalated in March 2015. Price increases are coming at a time of vanishing livelihoods, pushing more people towards food insecurity.
  • The livelihoods of 50 per cent of the rural Yemeni population is in jeopardy due to a drastic decline in agricultural production. The fishery sector has also been heavily impacted with the livelihoods of over 500,000 people at risk.

 

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

14.5 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

8.2 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • 14.5 million people need support to meet their basic water, sanitation and hygiene needs. This includes 8.2 million people who are in acute need. Over the last 19 months, this figure has increased by 8 per cent.
  • Access to drinking water is a major priority for IDPs. Large-scale and prolonged displacement puts additional burden on already scarce water sources.
  • Failing urban water and sanitation systems are contributing to a public health crisis, with a significant increase in malnutrition rates and outbreaks of cholera, dengue and scabies occurring in 2016.
  • Critical WASH infrastructure and supplies have been damaged in the conflict. Urgent efforts are needed to prevent water and sanitation systems from collapsing and to provide services to those living where existing structures are not in place or cannot be supported.

HEALTH

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

14.8 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

8.8 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • 14.8 million people require assistance to ensure adequate access to healthcare – 8.8 million of whom are in acute need. This represents a 76 per cent increase since late 2014, illustrating the magnitude of the health system’s collapse after 19 months of conflict.
  • Only 45 per cent of health facilities in 16 surveyed governorates are functional. As of late 2016, routine immunization coverage is low (Pentavalent vaccine 3 at 64 per cent; measles and rubella at 59 per cent).
  • Excess mortality is mainly concentrated among mothers, children and patients suffering from non-communicable diseases, malnutrition or communicable diseases who cannot access care as a result of the conflict. Outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea in 2016 demonstrate the scope of this threat.
  • Lack of salary payments to health personnel and difficulties importing medicines and other critical supplies are depleting the capacity of the public health sector, while private sector health services remain largely out of reach due to high costs.

Nutrition

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

4.5 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

4 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • Almost 4.5 million people require services to treat or prevent malnutrition, including 4 million in acute need who live in the worst affected areas. This represents a 148 per cent increase since late 2014.
  • Within the population in need, nearly 462,000 children are currently suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) – a nearly 200 per cent increase since 2014. In addition, 1.7 million children and 1.1 million pregnant or lactating women are suffering from Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).
  • Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates are as high as 31 per cent in some locations – more than twice the emergency threshold. The most pressing needs are concentrated in Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Amanat al Asimah, Sa’ada, Taizz, Ibb, Dhamar, Hadramaut, Lahj and Aden.
  • Nearly 1.2 million infants and young children require preventative nutrition services, including supplementation of a high-energy diet and support on infant and young child feeding.

Shelter and Non-food items (NFIs)

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

4.5 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

3.9 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • More than 4.5 million people require assistance with shelter, non-food items (NFIs), or management of collective centres in which they are living. Of these people, 3.9 million are in areas of acute need. This represents an enormous 748 per cent increase since late 2014 – the result of large-scale population movements during 19 months of conflict.
  • Violent clashes, indiscriminate shelling and air strikes have forced millions of people to flee their homes. Some 2.2 million people are currently displaced, 51 per cent of whom are sheltering in Taizz, Hajjah and Sana’a. Approximately 90 per cent of IDPs have been displaced for at least 10 months.
  • An additional 1 million people have returned to their areas of origin. Of all returnees, 68 per cent have returned to 33 districts in Aden, Amanat Al Asimah and Taizz. However, the sustainability of their return is precarious.
  • About 55 per cent of IDPs are living with host communities, straining already scarce resources, and 19 per cent are living in collective centres or spontaneous settlements that require basic services. Among returnees, 86 per cent have returned to their original homes.

PROTECTION

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

11.3 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

2.9 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • Nearly 11.3 million people need protection assistance including 2.9 million living in the most acutely affected areas.
  • As of October 2016, 11,332 civilian casualties had been reported by community-level human rights monitors since the escalation of the conflict, including 4,125 deaths and 7,207 injuries. These figures almost certainly understate the true extent of civilian casualties due to limited reporting mechanisms.
  • In 2016, the GBV Information Management System (IMS) reported 8,031 incidents of GBV. Almost 1 million children are currently displaced in Yemen. In 2016, there have been 699 verified incidents of grave violations of child rights.

EDUCATION

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (TOTAL)

2.3 M

NO. OF PEOPLE IN NEED (ACUTE)

1.1 M

BY SEX AND AGE

KEY MESSAGES

  • About 2 million children in Yemen are currently out of school. This represents 27 per cent of the 7.3 million school-aged children and includes 513,000 IDP children.
  • Altogether, 2.3 million people need support to ensure that crisis-affected children can access education. This includes 1.1 million people living in acutely affected areas.
  • More than 1,600 schools across the country have been affected by the conflict, including conflict-related damage, presence of IDPs or occupation by armed groups.
  • Resources available to education authorities have declined substantially, decreasing authorities’ ability to ensure continuity of the education system.

EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT AND COMMUNITY REHABILITATION (SEVERITY SCORE)

KEY MESSAGES

  • 15 Governorates are confirmed or suspected to have areas contaminated with landmines and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), putting communities at risk and hindering recovery.
  • Conflict has taken a serious toll on livelihoods and basic safety nets. Suspension of social protection programmes such as the Social Welfare Fund and Social Fund for Development are leaving millions of people without any source of income or employment.
  • With sufficient capacity building and support, local organizations could increase their role in the humanitarian response, considerably expanding reach into difficult to access areas and strengthening community engagement.

Logistics and Emergency telecommunications (ETC)

KEY MESSAGES

  • The Humanitarian Needs Overview focuses on the needs of affected people in Yemen. However, it also considers some broader operational needs that must be met in order to provide assistance across the country. More specific requirements will be articulated in the 2017 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.

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