By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-07-22

ADEN -- In Sanaa's Bayt Baws neighborhood, mother-of-six Arwa Ahmed staked out a spot outside a restaurant, from which to ask customers for any leftover food they could spare to help her feed her family.

"Since the food aid stopped at the end of last year, our living situation has become more difficult because the income of my husband, who works as a daily wage worker, is not enough to pay the rent," she said.

If Ahmed is unable to go out and ask for food, "my children may not eat that day, except for some bread and water, because we cannot buy basic foodstuffs due to our difficult circumstances and high prices," she added.

Hunger is becoming more prevalent in Yemen, the World Food Program (WFP) warned July 1, with "severe food deprivation" reaching an all-time high in parts of northern Yemen including al-Jawf, Hajjah, Amran and al-Hodeidah.

Yemen's government-controlled south is also witnessing "historic highs" of insufficient food consumption, according to the WFP.

On July 9, the WFP announced the limited resumption of aid distribution in Houthi-controlled areas after suspending aid to these areas in December, citing limited funding and a dispute with the group over who should receive the aid.

Famine hotspots emerging

In Houthi-controlled areas, half the households are not getting enough food, economist Fares al-Najjar told Al-Fassel.

This is an accumulation of poor economic conditions as a result of the long war triggered by the Houthis' September 2014 coup, he said.

Previous WFP reports have shown that more than five famine hotspots are emerging in provinces controlled by the Houthis, such as Hajjah, Mahwit and al-Hodeidah, he said.

The World Health Organization has warned of an alarming resurgence of cholera cases in northern Yemen, with the number of recorded cases nearing 100,000, Asharq al-Awsat reported July 17.

The Houthis have banned child vaccination campaigns and conceal the number of cholera cases and deaths in areas under their control, the newspaper said.

The new WFP report confirms "the Houthis do not care about the humanitarian situation," al-Najjar said, pointing to the group's abduction and expulsion of international humanitarian organization staff as further proof of this.

The Houthis detained more than a dozen aid workers June 10 in what appeared to be a coordinated move, accusing them of being part of a "spy network" and broadcasting forced "confessions" to bolster their false claim.

In January, the United Nations (UN) received correspondence from the Houthis that requested UN staff with US and UK citizenship leave the areas under the group's control within one month, thereby impeding aid delivery in the troubled country.