WFP expected to gradually resume assistance distribution in SBA-controlled areas

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On July 9, the World Food Program (WFP) announced the limited resumption of food assistance distributions in areas controlled by the Sana’a-based authorities (SBA) after a six-month pause. This announcement came after the WFP concluded a one-off pilot food distribution in eight districts of Hajjah and Al Hudaydah in May, reaching 663,635 people with a food basket providing 984 kilocalories per person per day for a 30-day period. By August, WFP expects to launch a rapid emergency response operation to feed one million people through one-off food distributions; however, the distribution plan – including target areas – remains unclear. These steps follow a pilot beneficiary retargeting exercise conducted by WFP in three districts starting in mid-April.
To date, only one-off food distributions are planned, which will lead to only temporary improvement in food consumption among beneficiaries. Further scale-up of assistance in SBA areas will be gradual; while it has been determined that this scale-up will prioritize 23 districts expected by implementing partners to be facing worse outcomes across SBA areas, negotiations regarding further steps are ongoing and it is unclear when this stage will commence. Additionally, information on ration size and distribution frequency – for this and further stages of scale-up – is not yet available. FEWS NET is monitoring the situation and will revisit analysis of most likely acute food security outcomes when sufficient information is available to incorporate assistance plans.
In the SBA-controlled northern highlands, the start of fruit harvest (pomegranate, apples, and grapes) and associated marketing activities is seasonally increasing households’ access to income. Despite this, millions continue to face food consumption gaps due to overall limited income-earning opportunities and low purchasing capacity amid paused humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, in areas controlled by the internationally-recognized government (IRG), continuous depreciation of the local currency (which reached a record 1,900 YER/USD in July) has increased basic food commodity prices to a level where millions cannot afford to meet their basic needs. Nationwide, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes are expected to persist at the governorate level throughout the projection period. In SBA-controlled governorates where more than 50 percent of the population received regular assistance prior to the pause, Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes are expected to continue throughout the majority of the projection period given that assistance scale-up will be gradual. However, improvement in outcomes is expected among populations who receive assistance.
The economic conflict between the IRG and the SBA is de-escalating. On July 22, the office of the UN envoy to Yemen announced that the two sides had reached an agreement to lift punitive economic restrictions recently instated by the country’s two central banks. The agreement includes rescinding the recent decision announced by the Aden-based central bank to cut off SBA-based banks from SWIFT servers and to allow for the resumed operation of flights from Sana’a airport. This agreement follows a steady escalation in the economic conflict, culminating in early July, as described in FEWS NET’s regular monthly reports since March. The impacts of interrupted internal trading process between the SBA and IRG are likely to persist in the coming two to three months; although cash flow restrictions between SBA and IRG have eased, there are still reports of local and foreign currency shortages in SBA areas. Additionally, the decline in remittance inflows to SBA areas has negatively impacted household income.
Around 70 percent of Yemen's food imports enter the country through the SBA-controlled Red Sea ports. The late July airstrike on Al Hudaydah seaports damaged port infrastructure, including two bridge cranes and fuel storage units. Initial reports estimate the cost of damage to port infrastructures exceeds 20 million US dollars, while the cost of damage to fuel and fuel infrastructure, including storage facilities, is likely to exceed 100 million US dollars. According to media reports, import operations were suspended for less than one day after the attack, with operations resuming as the Marsa Zenith container ship docked with a cargo of 514 containers. More recent available evidence – including ship tracking data – suggests that importation through Al Hudaydah port is ongoing, and no food or fuel shortages have been reported in SBA areas. Based on information available to date, no significant lasting impacts on food and fuel supply are anticipated; however, the extent of the damage and impacts on importation processes continues to be investigated, and FEWS NET is closely monitoring the evolving information landscape.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Yemen Key Message Update July 2024: WFP expected to gradually resume assistance distribution in SBA-controlled areas, 2024.

This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here.