Published on: 2026-10-30
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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October 30, 2026 Humanitarian Aid
Many low-income families in war-torn Yemen are unable to receive the humanitarian aid they urgently need because it poses risks to their health and lives. This warning was issued on Friday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to agency representatives, increasing instability, economic collapse, resource depletion, and severe restrictions on access for humanitarian organizations have resulted in tens of thousands of people being left without any support.
Despite the escalation of the armed conflict between Houthi rebels and government forces, which ended a four-year truce, thousands of people continue to risk their lives by heading to Yemen by sea from the countries of the Horn of Africa. This was reported by UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh.
The situation in refugee camps
Humanitarian organizations are particularly alarmed by the situation in the Kharaz refugee camp in the southwestern Lahij province, located near the front line.
About 9,500 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia live in the camp located in the territory controlled by the government. Although cases of refugee deaths have not yet been confirmed, the shootings near the camp disrupt the work of humanitarian organizations and limit the movement of its residents, Saltmarsh noted.
UNHCR partners, in coordination with local authorities, continue to distribute food within the camp. People are provided with water and urgent medical assistance, though with great difficulty. The provision of most other services has been suspended: schools are closed, legal consultations have ceased, and rising fuel and essential food prices are increasingly making everyday life difficult for refugees.
“When possible, we deliver aid, but this happens less and less,” Saltmarsh said. “We constantly receive reports that many displaced persons cannot reach the places where our warehouses and aid points are located. In many cases, it is too dangerous even for us to get to them.”
According to UNHCR data, more than 290,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to fighting in Yemen. The sharp increase in humanitarian needs coincided with serious disruptions in supply chains through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. To date, the UNHCR humanitarian plan for Yemen is funded at only 19 percent.
Humanitarian cargoes are already on the way
The agency reported that it was able to secure free transportation support for delivering 11 containers of essential items from Dubai to Yemen. However, as Saltmarsh noted, the rapidly changing security situation and logistical difficulties continue to complicate deliveries.
“These 11 containers are expected to arrive tomorrow. They contain three thousand humanitarian kits, which will be distributed among approximately 20,000 Yemenis,” he added.
A UNHCR representative also reported that the difficult situation persists not only in Yemen: the agency’s humanitarian operations in Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia remain highly vulnerable to the consequences of trade and shipping disruptions in the Red Sea.
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