Oxfam warns that Yemen is on brink of economic collapse

More than two million children are acutely malnourished, the confederation of NGOs warned, with millions more Yemenis in danger of catastrophic hunger.

Sunday 26 March marks eight years since the escalation of the conflict in Yemen.

A temporary UN-brokered truce expired in October and, whilst it has largely held, uncertainty around the political and economic future of Yemen remains.

The deadly conflict has devastated the country. Over 19,000 people have been killed and millions more forced to flee their homes.

Yemen has also been hit hard by the worsening global food crisis, partly due to the war in Ukraine.

The country imports 90% of its food, including 42% of its wheat from Ukraine over 4000 miles away.

Importers have warned that the global increase in costs will challenge their ability to secure wheat imports into Yemen.

In a country where many people depend on bread for most of their daily food to survive, this could push millions more towards starvation.

These sharp increases in the cost of fuel and other key commodities have also led to the collapse of its economy, only exacerbated further by rounds of currency depreciation.

Already, over 17 million people are experiencing high levels of food insecurity. 75% of them are women and children.

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For 38-year-old Eman, everything changed when the war started. A mother to three children, they suddenly lost their only source of income.

“Things went from bad to worse,” she said, “we lived through hell.”

She added: “We had no money and we were barely able to get through the day. Almost everyone we knew was impacted.”

Many of her fellow Yemenis have had to adopt negative coping mechanisms to survive.

Many are forced to buy on debt or take out loans from friends or families to pay for basic food items and medicines. Others have sold their assets, including livestock, property, or machinery.

Many girls drop out of school or are forced into early marriage.

More than 21.6 million people - two thirds of the population - need humanitarian assistance and protection, Oxfam has warned.

The country director for Oxfam in Yemen, Ferran Puig, said: “The people of Yemen are exhausted by war. Rising food prices and unpaid salaries mean even basic foodstuffs have been pushed beyond the reach of many Yemeni people.

“Donors must not turn their backs on what remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

“It is past time that world leaders exerted real pressure to bring all sides back to the table so they can bring a permanent end to the conflict.”