The United Nations Security Council is holding its monthly open briefing and closed consultations on Yemen this Wednesday, focusing on the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher are scheduled to brief the Council, alongside a representative from civil society involved in the WPS program. Greece, which holds the Council presidency for May and is a signatory to the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace, and Security, has indicated the session’s focus will center on WPS.
Meanwhile, humanitarian needs in Yemen continue to escalate due to the deteriorating economy, security challenges facing humanitarian operations, the collapse of essential services, and a severe funding shortfall. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that, as of May 13, the 2025 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) had received only 9% of its required funding—marking the lowest funding coverage in over a decade.
OCHA stressed an urgent need for $1.42 billion in funding to assist 8.8 million people by the end of the year. Fletcher is expected to emphasize the humanitarian crisis’s impact on Yemeni children, noting alarmingly high malnutrition rates. Around 2.4 million children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition, in addition to 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.
In this context, UNICEF launched an initiative on May 11 aimed at accelerating the reduction of undernutrition in Yemen, targeting 32 priority districts across 12 governorates. Fletcher is also expected to highlight additional challenges faced by Yemeni children, including exposure to landmines and lack of access to education.
