The Biden administration’s diplomatic efforts toward ending the war in Yemen are yielding international consensus on the need for a cease-fire and a more inclusive peace process, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking said on February 8. However, Lenderking added, a military offensive by Houthi rebels is a major obstacle to those peace efforts.

Protracted conflict, currency value shocks, fuel shortages, extreme food insecurity, massive levels of internal displacement, multiple concurrent epidemics, flooding, droughts, and widespread poverty fuel the current humanitarian crisis in Yemen, considered by the UN as one of the worst in the world.

By the end of 2022, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) predicts that 26.1 million of Yemenis will find themselves in acute food and livelihood crisis or in Humanitarian Emergency level (IPC 4) and 161,000 will be in a situation of famine (IPC 5). , and 1.3 million pregnant and lactating women are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition.

In Yemen, climate change has recently impacted rain patterns, causing intermittent droughts, flooding, locust swarms, destroying agricultural livelihoods, infrastructure, and reducing access to clean water.  3.3 million people are internally displaced in the country , with a majority lacking access to jobs, healthcare and adequate shelter.  Unpredictable exchange rate shocks have reduced the purchasing power for millions of Yemeni families, resulting in many families relying on negative coping mechanisms