How US aid cuts will deepen Yemen's humanitarian crisis

The Trump administration is ending nearly all remaining American aid for Yemen after reversing food assistance cuts in over a dozen countries, except for Afghanistan and Yemen.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that halting US funding for food could be a “death sentence” for millions. The cuts threaten to end food aid for 2.4 million people and stop nutritional support for 100,000 children, according to the WFP.

The new cut-off in emergency food aid, made public by the State Department in early April, will deal a heavy blow to war-ravaged Yemen, which will see $107 million in aid withdrawn from its largest donor.

Based on UN data, the United States contributed $768 million to Yemen last year, accounting for half of the country’s humanitarian response, but has only provided $15 million so far this year. As of April 2025, Yemen’s plan is only 6.9% funded, even before the suspension of US aid.

“This year’s humanitarian appeal for Yemen, which requires $2.5 billion, is less than 7 per cent funded, with only $173 million in the bank,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said in a press briefing.

The cuts mark another step in the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID. Since his second term began on 20 January, the president ordered a 90-day pause on all US foreign aid. In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the official cancellation of 83% of USAID’s foreign aid programmes.

The aid freeze has already resulted in the shutdown of life-saving services such as malnutrition treatment, healthcare for children with cholera, and shelters for survivors of gender-based violence.

The sudden reductions in humanitarian funding to Yemen have forced aid groups to determine which programmes to sustain and which to end, without guidance or support from US agencies.

American officials defended the funding cuts, citing the risk of funds being diverted to the Houthi militia as one of the reasons for the suspension.

Two days after Trump’s re-inauguration, he re-designated the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, as a foreign terrorist organisation, triggering rules that bar USAID from working with any group seen as funding or supporting them.

But the US terrorist labelling came without humanitarian exemptions, severely affecting aid delivery to Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen, where most people in need live. The impact also extends to southern Yemen, under the internationally recognised government.

“It’s a blind tool. The defunding doesn’t just affect the areas held by the Houthis but all the country,” Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst on Yemen at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told The New Arab.

The latest cuts are expected to compound Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and heighten instability in a country already crippled by war and underfunded relief.

“You see immediate effects everywhere,” Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, told the TNA. “It’s a mix of US funding cuts and how humanitarian groups have reacted to the United States’ terror listing.” She referred to the chaos around Washington’s decision as funds were cut, partially restored, then pulled again.

Beckerle argued critically that the withdrawal of funding from groups that protect victims of violence, arbitrary detainees, and the forcibly disappeared has allowed violations to continue unchecked.

“Continued cuts to WFP’s emergency operations will deepen hunger, fuel instability, and make the world far less safe,” WFP’s executive director Cindy Hensley McCain wrote on X.

The slashing of US aid is endangering Yemen’s most vulnerable groups, including women and girls, children, and the internally displaced. Several organisations have paused or terminated protection, health and nutrition services for children.

In a report published last month, MSF warned of an alarming rise in child malnutrition cases, exacerbated by suspensions in food assistance. Almost half of Yemen’s population is food insecure, and one in two children under five is acutely malnourished, according to the UN.

Funding termination risks closing many reproductive health and protection clinics, ending access to safe shelters and psychosocial support, leaving girls and women even more vulnerable to violence, trafficking, and early marriage. Life-saving emergency relief for hundreds of thousands of displaced people at risk.

Amnesty’s MENA deputy director remarked how the US funding halt has hit local partners hardest, key actors already operating in a highly challenging environment, whose ability to document human rights abuses or provide legal support has been severely compromised.

The Houthis have already restricted access and detained aid workers over the past year, fostering fear within the aid community. Since May 2024, the de facto ruling group has arbitrarily detained dozens of UN staff and relief workers amid an ongoing crackdown on civil society groups.

Beckerle explained that the US’s swift stop in funding not only undermines local groups’ efforts to monitor violations and pursue justice, but creates a “chilling effect”, with many civil society members fearing that speaking out could jeopardise funding.

Amnesty International has urged the US to reinstate aid immediately and exempt humanitarian groups from sanctions. It has also called on other donor countries - like the UK, the EU, Saudi Arabia and Germany - to increase support to avoid the collapse of Yemen’s fragile aid system.

In addition to the financial cutbacks and the blacklisting of the Houthis, since 15 March Washington has stepped up airstrikes against the group in retaliation for its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea linked to the war in Gaza.

The US military actions, intended to deter the Houthis, may strengthen their local support by reinforcing their narrative as a resistance force. The rebel group has vowed to keep targeting Israeli-linked ships, despite US strikes and Iran’s calls for restraint. The Houthis have said they won’t stop until the war in Gaza ends.

The military escalation, which has targeted areas under Houthi control, including Sanaa, Saadah, and Hodeidah, further aggravates an already dire humanitarian situation, hitting a population still heavily impacted by 10 years of conflict.

Speaking to The New Arab, Abdulghani Al-Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sana'a Centre for Strategic Studies, said US actions against the Houthis seem driven more by domestic political motives than by military objectives, with no clear follow-up plan. Meanwhile, he continued, the Houthis may not be able to strike Israel but can still disrupt maritime traffic in the Red Sea by attacking commercial vessels.

The scholar believes there are sufficient factors that could further worsen the country’s situation for its people. “If nothing is done, there’s a good chance that the combination of aid cuts, terror designation and strikes will lead to famine within months,” Al-Iryani warned.

For ICG’s Nagi, the worst is yet to come. “There’s increasing momentum within the anti-Houthi bloc for a ground operation,” he stated, noting that the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) is advocating for a land offensive backed by US air support. “Washington may be weighing the option of escalating pressure through a combined ground-air strategy”, the analyst added.

In his view, the Yemeni government sees an “opportunity” to position itself as the key local partner for any future military incursions, believing US airstrikes alone won’t stop Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.

On the other hand, Nagi anticipated that since they have long prepared for such a ground campaign, Houthi forces are likely to put up strong resistance, making the conflict “long, costly, and devastating”, especially for civilians.

Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, was drawn into war in 2014 when Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sana’a, and much of the north. A year later, a Saudi-led coalition with US backing intervened to support the government.

Beckerle denounced the fact that Yemen has endured multiple violations of international law for over a decade, from the killing and wounding of civilians to the destruction of critical infrastructure, while Yemenis are left to pick up the pieces.

“Not a single party to the conflict has offered redress or reparations for the harms they have caused”, she said. “Instead, aid is being stripped away, and military attacks are escalating.”

Alessandra Bajec is a freelance journalist currently based in Tunis.

Follow her on Twitter: @AlessandraBajec