World Bank warns of worsening humanitarian and economic crisis in Yemen due to ongoing conflict

The World Bank warned of the worsening humanitarian and economic crisis in Yemen as a result of the ongoing conflict that the country has been witnessing for a decade.

“The Yemeni economy continues to face increasing challenges, with prolonged conflict, political fragmentation, and escalating regional tensions pushing the country into a more severe humanitarian and economic crisis,” the World Bank said in its latest edition of the Yemen Economic Monitor on Thursday.

The report, titled “Confronting Mounting Challenges,” added that Yemen’s GDP will continue to shrink for the second year in a row, “expected to shrink by 1% in 2024, after falling by 2% in 2023, which will lead to a further deterioration in per capita real GDP, to a decline of 54% since 2015.”

The report continued, "The conflict has pushed most Yemenis into poverty, while food insecurity has reached historic levels, with more than 60 percent of the population now facing insufficient access to food."

The report indicated that the financial revenues of the internationally recognized government witnessed a significant deterioration in the first half of this year 2024, as they decreased by 42%, due to the continued blockade imposed by the Houthis on oil exports, which prevented it from providing basic services to the population.

The report recommends enhancing institutional resilience to manage inflation and financial challenges, and also suggests improving trade routes and access to financial services to ease economic pressures and prevent further fragmentation.

The report stressed that Yemen's economic prospects for 2025 remain bleak, with the ongoing regional and internal conflict threatening to deepen fragmentation and exacerbate the social and humanitarian crisis.

“However, the potential peace could spur rapid economic recovery, if a lasting peace agreement is reached. This would pave the way for vital foreign aid, reconstruction and reforms needed to stabilize the country and its economy,” he added.