Concern responds to escalating humanitarian crisis in Yemen

“The numbers of displaced people are rising daily,” Concern’s Country Director in Yemen, Victor Moses, said. “Since early September, relentless hostilities, shelling, road closures, and insecurity have forced families to flee their homes with terrifying suddenness—many for the second or third time. 

“Families are arriving in overcrowded displacement sites and host communities with little more than the clothes on their backs. They have no safe shelter. No food. No clean water. No sanitation facilities. No medicines. No basic household items to rebuild even a semblance of normal life.”

“These are not mere statistics. They are mothers, fathers, children, and older people whose lives have been torn apart by violence they cannot control,” he said. 

Women, children, older people, those with disabilities, and those suffering from chronic illness face heightened risks to their protection, health, and dignity. 

These families were already enduring severe economic hardship, high levels of food insecurity, and serious nutrition challenges before being displaced, he said. The latest escalation has pushed them into an even more desperate situation, increasing their exposure to hunger, disease, trauma, and unsafe living conditions.

Concern and its national partners are supporting health, nutrition, and water and sanitation services in Lahj Governorate and are preparing a targeted emergency response in Taiz Governorate. This year they plan to reach 40,000 people in Yemen and are aiming to support over 1,000 people in displacement camps where it is working, as part of the emergency response funded by Irish Aid.

The existing health clinics supported by Concern in two camps for displaced people camps in Lahj have already received an additional 560  people  in recent weeks. 

 "Resources were already scarce before this new displacement, and with the new arrivals in the camps we support are stretching services even further. Our health clinics are under growing pressure, with essential medical supplies running low and staff working hard to respond to rising needs," Concern’s Programme Director in Yemen, Abdul Ghaffar, said. 

"During my visit to one of the newly established displacement sites in Aden, I saw families living in extremely difficult and undignified conditions,” Husam Mothana, Concern's MEAL Officer in Yemen, said. “Local authorities had installed tents, but there were still no basic services available. Some 400 people recently arrived, many of them women and children who had fled with almost nothing.” 

“One family told me about a breast-feeding mother who was bleeding, yet no maternal health services were available to support her. There was no water, no latrines, no mattresses, and no essential household items. These families urgently need safe shelter, clean water, sanitation, health care, and basic supplies. Without immediate support, their health, dignity and safety will continue to deteriorate." 

Concern is urging donors, partners, and supporters to act now. “Timely funding will help families who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and safety to access basic shelter, food, sanitation, and dignity in the first critical weeks of displacement. Every delay increases exposure to disease, hunger, protection risks, and further trauma,” Mr Moses said. “With support, Concern and its partners can scale up quickly, reach families before conditions deteriorate further, and help protect lives. Together, we can offer hope in the midst of a devastating crisis.” 

Concern is grateful to ECHO, Irish Aid, Start Network, and the Yemen Humanitarian Fund, and private supporters for their contribution, which is helping Concern and its partners respond to the needs of communities affected by the crisis.

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