Yemen: 85% of families living in refugee camps cannot eat every day

ROMA – Living conditions for displaced people in Yemen are worsening, with hunger, poor sanitation and difficulty accessing essential services. A grim situation that emerges clearly from the latest data published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The relationship. Data shows that 85% of families – especially those living in refugee and internally displaced persons camps – are unable to meet their daily food needs. To survive, many have had to resort to extreme solutions: reducing the size of meals or the number of meals consumed. Another critical but largely overlooked problem is the widespread lack of civil documentation among displaced people. Over 51% of those interviewed have at least one child without a birth certificate and 70% have at least one relative without an identity card.

Without the documents, all assistance is lost. But without documents, families are cut off from essential services, healthcare, education, and are deprived of basic rights, making them even more vulnerable and at risk of not being able to rebuild their lives. Although living in camps is difficult, most displaced families in Yemen do not consider the possibility of returning home because they are afraid of war, because they have lost their jobs and personal possessions, and because they fear for their safety due to the widespread presence of landmines, which are among the main causes of prolonged displacement.

Humanitarian aid. Yemen, which remains one of the world’s worst crises, faces extreme challenges in silence, as global attention, from the media to the humanitarian world, is focused on other emergencies. Yet today 18.2 million people in the country, including 4.5 million displaced people, are in urgent need of assistance to survive. These include more than 60,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. Yemen is also one of the countries hardest hit by the climate crisis and among those least equipped to deal with its effects.

The floods and the collapse of three dams. The recent floods in Malhan district of Al Mahweet governorate, which caused three dam collapses, have devastated entire territories and communities. Over the past month, the floods have claimed 97 lives and injured many more; they have destroyed over 56,000 homes and displaced around 1,000 families. The worst-hit areas include Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Al-Taweela and Marib. Roads in these areas have become impassable; the affected people have been cut off and difficult to reach, even for relief workers and non-governmental organizations. Much infrastructure has been washed away, and agricultural land has been submerged in water and debris. The force of the water has also unearthed unexploded ordnance, moving it from one place to another, thus posing further threats to civilians and humanitarian workers.