An international organization concerned with child protection warned that millions of children in Yemen are slipping into more dangerous levels of hunger, as a result of the accelerating repercussions of regional escalation that disrupted navigation, and raised fuel and food prices, while the country is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

This warning comes in parallel with the Houthis' announcement of their involvement in the confrontation alongside Iran, and their threat to resume targeting navigation in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, raising fears of a new wave of rising costs of food and fuel imports, and disruption of humanitarian aid access to millions of Yemenis, especially children.

Save the Children said that a field assessment showed that commodity markets in Yemen witnessed a significant rise in fuel and food prices, due to disrupted navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and increased commercial shipping costs, which pushed thousands of families to the brink of being unable to meet their basic needs in a country where about 52 percent of the population faces the risk of hunger.

The organization explained that fuel imports through Yemeni ports declined sharply during the first quarter of this year, leading to supply shortages and rising fuel prices, which affected humanitarian aid transport operations and increased their costs, as well as raising food prices in local markets.

About 52 percent of Yemen's population faces the risk of hunger (United Nations)

It noted that families that were able to meet their needs before the regional crisis erupted are now flocking to its malnutrition treatment centers, after being forced to reduce the number of daily meals and settle for the simplest types of food.

According to the assessment, the fuel shortage and a 56 percent rise in diesel prices in Taiz governorate disrupted the distribution of food and basic hygiene supplies for three days last June, and also caused a temporary delay in support for local health facilities, including the rehabilitation of war-damaged health centers, before those activities later resumed.

Children Pay the Price

The international organization confirmed that more than a decade of conflict has left the equivalent of two-thirds of Yemen's population in need of humanitarian aid, while the economic crisis and climate shocks, including floods, have exacerbated the erosion of household income sources, to the point that half of children under five suffer from malnutrition.

It added that the severe funding shortage has forced many life-saving humanitarian programs to reduce their activities at a highly sensitive stage, exposing millions of children to additional risks and threatening the limited humanitarian gains achieved in recent years.

The war ignited by the Houthis has deprived 4 million children of education (United Nations)

Rashana Hanifa, Save the Children's country director in Yemen, said that children have been paying the price for one crisis after another for more than 10 years, while the international community's attention to their suffering has declined, adding that today they are also victims of the regional escalation that caused widespread disruption to supply chains and raised prices of basic foodstuffs.

She explained that the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is not a quick solution to Yemen's supply chain and food system problems; because even short periods of interruption in access to affordable food leave long-term effects on children's growth and health, and their repercussions will continue to affect families for years.

Calls to Secure Navigation

The international organization called for allowing the passage of food, fertilizers, and humanitarian supplies through the Strait of Hormuz without delay, warning that every day these routes are disrupted means more hunger for Yemeni families and greater risks to children's lives.

It also stressed the need to reach a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in the Middle East and the region, to ensure the protection of children and limit the humanitarian repercussions of conflicts.

Save the Children confirmed that the United Nations humanitarian appeal and response plan for Yemen had only received 14.7 percent of the required funding by mid-year, calling for flexible, sustainable, and multi-year funding to enable families to meet their food needs and enhance their ability to withstand future shocks.

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