By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, Jan 19 (Reuters) – The U.N. warned on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is worsening and that gains made to tackle malnutrition and health would go into reverse due to funding cuts.
“The context is very concerning… We are expecting things to be much worse in 2026,” Julien Harneis, U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told reporters in Geneva.
Some 21 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, an increase from 19.5 million the previous year, according to the U.N. The situation has been aggravated by economic collapse and disruption of essential services including health and education, and political uncertainty, Harneis said.
Funding Yemen traditionally received from Western countries was now being cut back, Herneis said, pointing to hopes for more help from Gulf countries.
The U.S. slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors also pared back help as they pivoted to raise defence spending, triggering a funding crunch for the U.N.
Yemen has been the focus of one of the world’s largest humanitarian operations in a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies. The country has also been a source of heightened tensions in recent months between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“Children are dying and it’s going to get worse,” Harneis said. Food insecurity is projected to worsen across the country, with higher rates of malnutrition anticipated, he stated.
“For 10 years, the U.N. and humanitarian organisations were able to improve mortality and improve morbidity…this year, that’s not going to be the case.”
He said Yemen’s humanitarian crisis threatened the region with diseases like measles and polio that could cross borders.
In 2025 680 million dollars was afforded to the U.N. in Yemen, about 28% of the intended target, Harneis said.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by William Maclean)
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