Country: Yemen Source: Oxfam Please refer to the attached file. The conflict in the Middle East and wider region is obstructing key delivery routes for humanitarian supplies, delaying lifesaving shipments for at least 130,000 people in Yemen. The fragile and shrunken humanitarian lifeline to millions of people is fracturing. Driven by the escalating regional conflict, the supply chains sustaining the response delivered by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are under severe strain, pushing already constrained lifesaving operations toward collapse or life-threatening delays. The uncertainty and disruption in key maritime corridors are already heavily impacting our ability to deliver emergency relief. While key national ports in Yemen technically remain operational, the conflict is having dire ripple effects on aid supplies due to disruptions along key sea routes, with shipping costs expected to skyrocket in some cases. Currently, over 150 tons of bulk humanitarian cargo (exclusively classified as lifesaving or dual-purpose items, including heavy medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and water infrastructure) remain stalled, with uncertainty regarding their revised arrival dates. According to four of the 12 surveyed INGOs, these delays are directly responsible for cutting off critical interventions to those 130,000 beneficiaries. Because these figures reflect only a fraction of operating INGOs, the true impact across the country is likely significantly higher. These international bottlenecks are being immediately felt in local markets across the country, where many Yemenis are absorbing the cost of regional instability. As commercial and humanitarian imports slow to a halt, basic commodity prices are surging. Over the past month, the cost of bottled water has jumped from 200 Yemeni Rials (YER) to 300 YER, cooking oil and liquid gas have each gone up by 1,000 YER, and fuel prices continue to climb rapidly, thus impacting transport costs within the supply chain of essential items. A recent fuel price increase, where gasoline and diesel prices were set at 1,475 YER per liter (29,500 YER per 20L), reflects a sharp 13.5% rise from the previous price, underscoring growing inflationary pressures across the country. This inflation directly exacerbates nationwide food insecurity and limits the purchasing power of an already exhausted population, threatening to push more communities into higher emergency phases of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global scale used by aid agencies to measure the severity of hunger and track famine. Already, recent IPC data projects that over 18 million people in Yemen will face Crisis levels of hunger or worse (IPC Phase 3+) in the first half of 2026, with over 5.5 million in Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4) and at least 41,000 people at risk of catastrophic, famine-like conditions (IPC Phase 5). Beyond the immediate humanitarian and operational impacts, escalating regional tensions also risk undermining prospects for peace in Yemen. The current volatility diverts attention and political capital away from the Yemeni peace process, while increasing uncertainty among key regional actors whose engagement is critical to sustaining dialogue. As tensions rise, there is a heightened risk of shifting priorities and reduced diplomatic momentum. Peace in Yemen cannot be achieved in isolation; continued regional escalation risks reversing fragile progress and prolonging the suffering of millions of Yemenis. Furthermore, these external shocks are compounded by internal administrative friction affecting the processes required for humanitarian organizations to deliver aid effectively. Safe, unimpeded, and sustained access for humanitarian workers is a core obligation under International Humanitarian Law, and includes not only access within Yemen, but also the ability for international humanitarian personnel to enter and leave the country without undue restrictions. The humanitarian supply chain cannot function without the personnel required to manage it. At present, humanitarian workers face significant movement constraints. According to a recent survey conducted among INGOs, 91 percent of respondent organizations report delays or severe disruptions to staff movement. To avert the collapse of these lifesaving pipelines, the undersigned INGOs urgently call upon all parties to the conflict and the international community to: ● Facilitate the Safe Movement of Humanitarian Personnel: Ensure the safe and predictable movement of all humanitarian staff, recognizing that lifesaving operations rely on a secure environment where aid workers can operate without undue administrative delays or unjust constraints on their mobility. ● Accelerate Administrative Procedures: Facilitate the timely processing of administrative procedures, specifically by accelerating the permissions required to transport lifesaving supplies across the country. ● Promote De-escalation, Protect Civilians and Enable Economic Recovery: Urgently prioritize de-escalation across the region and uphold obligations under international humanitarian law, ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Sustained peace and stability in the region are essential not only for safeguarding humanitarian operations but also for restoring market functionality, and enabling a pathway toward lasting peace in Yemen. ● Enable Context-Appropriate Procurement Modalities: Support and facilitate the use of national and regional procurement channels, where feasible, to mitigate delays associated with international supply pipelines, while ensuring compliance with applicable regulations and maintaining quality standards. ● Strengthen Local Production and Supply Resilience: Promote and invest in strengthening local and regional production capacities, where feasible, to reduce reliance on external supply chains and enhance resilience to future shocks and disruptions, particularly in contexts where prolonged instability has constrained domestic production and market functionality. ● Ensure Continuity of Humanitarian Programming in a Changing Context: Recognize the operational implications of ongoing regional developments and enable sufficient flexibility to accommodate disruptions to timelines, delivery modalities, and access, in order to sustain the continuity of lifesaving assistance. We firmly remind all actors that lifesaving operations must never be impacted by the actions of any party to the conflict. The delivery of principled aid must remain entirely decoupled from regional and internal disputes. Without immediate steps to shield this response from further disruption, the human cost in Yemen will be devastating. Yemen Advocacy Working Group