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Yemen war continues to force families from homes amid hunger and disease
More than 250,000 people have now fled renewed fighting in Yemen, the UN said on Tuesday, citing particular concern for those sheltering in the southwestern city of Taiz and the wider governorate, where access is “essentially blocked”.
The development follows the resumption last month of clashes between Houthi fighters and the internationally recognized Government based in Aden, ending the relative calm brought about by the 2022 truce.
The situation in Taiz is particularly worrying because around half of those recently uprooted by the violence have sought shelter there.
“Taiz is certainly the number one concern at the moment in an ocean of concerns,” said Akhil Iyer, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Yemen. “Many people have fled repeatedly. They are arriving in already overcrowded camps or communities with little or no food. Clean water is almost non-existent when they arrive. They’ve literally arrived with just the clothes on their backs, and they have almost nothing left to sustain themselves.”
According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), wheat flour stocks in affected areas of Taiz are nearly exhausted.
“This is an alarming development in a governorate that already faces some of Yemen’s highest levels of food insecurity,” Mr. Iyer stressed.
Briefing journalists via video from Aden, the UNICEF official described the deteriorating situation in conflict-affected areas, where “garbage is piling up – particularly in Taiz city – as sanitation services come to a halt”.
The ongoing hostilities have made it extremely difficult and dangerous for humanitarian agencies to reach vulnerable communities and deliver fuel and other necessities.
The result could be an even more acute health emergency in a country already facing outbreaks of cholera and measles, along with suspected cases of diphtheria and dengue.
“We are very worried about the water and sanitation situation in Taiz because diesel fuel is essential to run pumping stations in and around the city. Supplies have been threatened by the lack of access and the blockage of supply routes, particularly from Aden to Taiz city,” Mr. Iyer explained.
He noted that although UNICEF had pre-positioned enough ready-to-use therapeutic food before the conflict escalated early last month, the supplies could not be distributed to health facilities because “all of the routes are closed”.
“We’re calling on all parties to protect children and civilians, safeguard water systems and health facilities, and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. That includes allowing humanitarian actors access.”
World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic reported that 12 hospitals in Taiz had approximately four days of fuel remaining. The oxygen cylinders they require are in “daily deficit”, while 115 of 127 essential medicines have sufficient stocks for about one week or less, he said.
Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), stressed that access problems were preventing aid teams from reaching those most in need, although protection activities continued “where access allows”.
“Let’s not forget that there are some 65,000 refugees and asylum-seekers who are also urgently in need of support; most are from Somalia and Ethiopia,” he added.
Ends
Story: Yemen Taiz alert – UNICEF WHO UNHCR
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
Duration: 4’00”
DATELINE: 20 October 2026 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND & broll from a camp for displaced people in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate, Yemen, September 2026; please credit UNICEF
Speakers:
- - Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen, speaking from Aden
- - Matthew Saltmarsh, UNHCR
- - Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson, WHO
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot, UN flag alley, UN Geneva.
- Wide, Press Room, podium speakers, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen: “Taiz is certainly the number one concern at the moment in an ocean of concerns. Many people have fled repeatedly. They are arriving in already overcrowded camps or communities with little or no food. Clean water is almost nil until they arrive. They’ve literally arrived with just the clothes on their back and they have almost nothing left to sustain themselves.”
- Wide, Press Room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen: “Our partner organization, the World Food Programme, has warned that wheat flour stocks in affected areas of Taiz are nearly exhausted and this is an alarming development in a governorate which already faces some of Yemen’s highest levels of food insecurity, with 10 of its 16 districts previously classified as being at emergency levels.”
- Wide, Press Room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen: “We are very worried about the water and sanitation situation in Taiz because a shortage of diesel fuel, which is essential to run pumping stations in and around Taiz, has been threatened by the lack of access or the blockage in the supply routes, particularly from Aden to Taiz City.”
- Medium, video journalist.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen: “Garbage is piling up, particularly in Taiz City, as sanitation services come to a halt. What we’re afraid of is this water and sanitation crisis will increase the risk of diarrhoeal disease and cholera, particularly at this time of the year.”
- Medium, journalist.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen: “We had pre-positioned enough ready-to-use therapeutic food before the escalation of the conflict in Taiz. The problem is that therapeutic food has to be distributed to a large number of health facilities across the governorate and all of the routes are closed.”
- Wide, podium speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Tarik Jasarevic, WHO: “There are 12 hospitals in Taiz that have approximately four days of fuel remaining. The city is also facing a daily deficit of oxygen while 115 out of 127 essential medicines have sufficient stocks for about one week or less.”
- Wide, Press Room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthew Saltmarsh, UNHCR: “The restricted access is limiting exactly what we’re able to do. And our protection activities are continuing where the access allows. Also, within the country, let’s not forget that there are some 65,000 refugees and asylum seekers who are also urgently in need of support and most of those are from Somalia and from Ethiopia.”
- Wide, shelters for displaced people in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate; please credit UNICEF.
- Wide, displaced people sitting outside their shelters in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate; please credit UNICEF.
- Wide, young men carrying a water butt at a displacement camp in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate; please credit UNICEF.
- A man holds a sleeping baby in his lap, a toddler sits on the floor next to him, beside a stack of concrete sacks in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate; please credit UNICEF.
- A young girl brings in the washing from a line at a camp for displaced people in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate; please credit UNICEF.
- Several children and a women sitting on the ground in a tent in Jabal Habashi district, Taiz governorate; please credit UNICEF.
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