Excluded from Aid: Taiz’s Jabal Habashi District Issues Urgent Appeal to World Food Programme

Yemen Monitor/ Taiz / Newsroom:

Residents of the Jabal Habashi district in Taiz governorate have issued an urgent humanitarian appeal to the World Food Programme (WFP), following a decision to remove the district from its food aid distribution lists—a move that has sparked widespread alarm and confusion within the local community.

The district is grappling with its most severe living conditions in years. With a population of approximately 200,000, a staggering 68% live below the poverty line. A significant portion of the population depends on aid as their only lifeline against escalating needs.

According to local representatives, around 18,000 families in Jabal Habashi are classified as highly vulnerable. This figure includes 8,300 families facing the threat of acute hunger and 3,000 displaced families lacking the most basic necessities for stability. Furthermore, more than 3,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, a condition requiring immediate intervention.

In a formal statement, community leaders asserted that the exclusion from aid not only cuts off thousands of families from essential food supplies but also intensifies the suffering of the most fragile populations. They are calling on the WFP to urgently reassess the humanitarian situation and uphold standards of fairness and transparency in determining eligibility.

The appeal demands the district’s reinstatement to the beneficiary lists and an increase in its monthly allocation to 18,000 food baskets. This, they argue, is necessary to match the scale of the need and the pervasive poverty in the area.

While acknowledging the WFP’s critical efforts in mitigating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, the statement issued a stark warning: Jabal Habashi is now on the brink of a catastrophic humanitarian situation that demands a swift and equitable response.