Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. The world’s biggest response. On the brink of famine for the past four years. It is neglected, grossly underfunded, and exceedingly dangerous. This is the narrative that is spun and reinforced by those who lead the international response in Yemen, both on the humanitarian and political levels, from posts in Yemen to the top humanitarian leadership in New York, Geneva and Rome. The picture painted for the public, amplified through the media and…

Introduction The value of the Yemeni rial (YR) has been collapsing dramatically since the end of August in areas nominally controlled by the internationally recognized Yemeni government. This has spurred a rapid deterioration in the living conditions of millions of people and widespread social unrest. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also recently allocated the Yemeni government substantial financial support that,…

Al-Qaeda in Yemen appears weaker now than at almost any point since its Saudi and Yemeni branches united to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in 2009. The group’s fortunes peaked in 2015 when it established a proto-state in the eastern port city of Mukalla, taking advantage of the security vacuum and increasing sectarianism as Yemen’s civil war spiraled…

This paper critically analyzes ‘famine’ and its function in the Yemeni context, considering how its technical definition and operational frameworks – which have become gatekeepers to famine declaration - (mis)match the food security crisis in Yemen. It proposes a new conceptualization of famine beyond a lack of food, or fixating exclusively on physical and economic access to food. Instead, it centers political factors – and actors – that actively create famine conditions and the aid responses to them, which have…

This report examines some of the women-led entities that have emerged amid conflict, from large-scale prominent networks such as the Women’s Pact for Peace and Security and the Women’s Solidarity Network, to local-level initiatives such as Hadramawt Women for Peace, a group of eight women who successfully advocated to reopen a key road, and, briefly, Al-Riyan airport. It also looks at women-led organizations such as the Marib Girls Foundation, which encourages the participation of women and young people in peacebuilding…