47 Humanitarian Organizations to the UN General Assembly: Yemen on the Brink of Collapse

Yemen Monitor / New York / Special Report:

In a joint and urgent appeal coinciding with the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, dozens of humanitarian organizations operating in Yemen warned that the country is on the verge of sliding into an even deeper and more devastating humanitarian catastrophe.

In their statement issued today, the organizations stressed that the crisis in Yemen has “stripped people of their most basic needs, turning every day into a struggle for survival.”

This direct warning comes from 47 relief organizations, including prominent international and local names such as Oxfam, CARE, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, and INTERSOS, amid mounting danger signs threatening the lives of millions of Yemenis, as the crisis faces its worst funding levels in a decade.

The organizations urged member states and regional actors to press for the immediate release of aid workers detained by the Houthis and to demand unimpeded freedom of movement for humanitarian workers and supplies.

Shocking Numbers and Growing Suffering

The statement to world leaders leaves no doubt about the scale of the disaster:

• 17 million people are facing hunger, including at least 41,000 at risk of catastrophic famine.
• 2.4 million children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition, with at least two children having died of hunger in recent months.
• “One in every five families in Yemen goes a full day and night without any food,” the statement added.

The causes of the crisis go beyond the armed conflict itself. The statement pointed to additional accelerating factors:

• Recent floods destroyed the homes and belongings of more than 50,000 displaced families, devastating farmland, income sources, and further spreading diseases.
• With water and sanitation infrastructure damaged, suspected cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhea have risen to over 58,000, with 163 deaths, making Yemen one of the worst-affected countries worldwide.

Civilian suffering continues as well, with over 880 civilian casualties reported so far in 2025 due to ongoing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The crisis is hitting vulnerable groups the hardest. Poor families are increasingly resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as child marriage and child labor, amid rising school dropouts and the collapse of essential services — threatening the future of entire generations.

Global Call to Action

The humanitarian organizations called on world leaders to act decisively on several fronts:

• Donors must urgently provide sufficient resources to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of food, health, water, and protection programs.
• Member states must call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and refrain from targeting civilians.