USAID has pledged to continue distributing aid to Yemen, including to areas controlled by the Houthi militias who have increased their campaign of arrests against staff from UN agencies and international organizations.

The agency said it has provided assistance through partners to more than 1.3 million Yemenis, amid the high level of food insecurity due to economic deterioration and diminishing livelihoods.

In a recent report, USAID said its partners continue to provide emergency food assistance, including US sourced commodities and cash vouchers to shop at local markets.

For example, one partner provided cash to nearly 6,800 host community families, and some 2,000 internally displaced families, and allocated these amounts to food purchases.

In government-controlled areas, the agency also distributed aid in Abyan, Al Dhalee and Lahj governorates through the provision of life-saving food voucher assistance complemented with nutrition-related activities.

It also offered assistance to more than 1,800 households in Houthi-controlled areas in the governorates of Jawf and Marib during April.

The agency said it provides monthly support to distribute unconditional food assistance designed to meet 80% of the average daily calorie requirement for each household member.

Also, USAID partners are providing multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) to cover other costs - including shelter and hygiene items - throughout Yemen to support food insecurity, and improve household purchasing power, according to the report.

It said while the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) general food assistance (GFA) program remains paused in the Houthi-controlled areas, USAID partners continue to provide food assistance to support vulnerable households.

With the US government support, International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNHCR, and three NGOs provide MPCA to conflict-affected households across Yemen to meet their basic needs and reduce the use of negative coping strategies, while also supporting local markets.

USAID data also reveals that Houthi-controlled areas suffer from inadequate levels of food consumption, adding that the nationwide rate of inadequate food consumption rose from 51% in April to 58% last May.

It warned that this trend significantly worsened in the Houthis-controlled areas, where it increased by 78% year-on-year, compared to 52% in government-controlled areas.

It said the overall volume of food imports via all Yemeni seaports increased by 22% during the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Deterioration of Health

USAID said that almost a decade of conflict has led Yemen to experience devastating outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, especially among children.

It said displacement, economic deterioration, low incomes and overcrowded living conditions in internally displaced persons camps, along with a burdened health system and low immunization rates, have contributed to the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases.