World Food Programme ends operations in Houthi-held northern Yemen

The United Nations World Food Programme confirmed on Jan. 29 that it will suspend all operations in Houthi-held northern Yemen and terminate local staff contracts, citing an increasingly insecure operating environment and acute funding pressures. The move, conveyed to staff in a virtual meeting by program leadership, is due to take effect at the end of March, with WFP saying the suspension will start on March 31.

WFP officials described "loss of a safe operating environment" and a "challenging funding environment" as the principal reasons for the decision. The agency said international staff had already been withdrawn from Houthi-controlled areas and that the suspension affects all activities in Sanaa and other Houthi-held provinces.

There is a discrepancy in reported headcounts for affected staff. WFP communications to staff referenced the termination of 360 Yemeni employees, while other UN officials said roughly 365 staff members would lose their jobs by the end of March. WFP has not yet provided a single, public headcount reconciling the difference. Staff in Sanaa and other northern offices learned of the decision in a virtual meeting convened by program leadership, several attendees said.

The decision follows a period of intensified restrictions and security incidents. WFP and UN officials say Houthi authorities have conducted raids on UN premises and detained aid workers; 38 WFP employees have been held by Houthi authorities for several months, and some local UN staff have been detained since 2021, officials say. Houthi authorities have at times accused detained staff of spying, allegations the UN rejects. There was no immediate comment from the Houthi authorities on the WFP suspension.

Humanitarian experts and UN officials warned that the suspension will have immediate and severe consequences. WFP and UN figures stress that millions of Yemenis rely on WFP assistance and that Houthi-controlled areas represent a large share of national humanitarian need. Ramesh Rajasingham, director of humanitarian operations in Yemen, told the UN Security Council earlier this month that "more than 18 million people in Yemen could face acute food insecurity in the coming month, with tens of thousands at risk of slipping into 'catastrophic hunger' and facing famine-like conditions."

WFP said it would continue to operate within the broader UN framework while pressing for the release of detained staff, but it made clear that direct food distributions and programmes in northern provinces will be suspended once contracts end. The agency previously curtailed operations in late August after a series of detentions and security incidents; the latest step marks a more definitive shutdown of its presence in areas under de facto Houthi control.

Aid groups warned that alternatives to WFP logistics and purchasing power are limited. Houthi-held areas include densely populated urban centres where food insecurity and malnutrition rates are among the highest in the country. The suspension therefore risks exacerbating humanitarian need at scale and straining remaining non-governmental and UN channels trying to reach vulnerable populations.

WFP and UN officials said they are continuing diplomatic and humanitarian engagement to secure the safe release of detainees and to explore contingency arrangements for food assistance, while appealing to donors for emergency funding to sustain remaining pipelines.