The UN’s Humanitarian Country Team in Yemen has released its Response Plan (HRP) for this year, seeking nearly $4.3b to reverse a steady deterioration across the country, with the grinding war there continuing, despite a current pause in fighting. The plan targets 17.3m out of the staggering 23.4m people in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection services across the war-ravaged Arab nation, as the first nationwide truce in six years, coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, continues to broadly hold. The UN-led truce between the Saudi-led coalition forces supporting the internationally recognized Government, and Houthi rebels who hold much of the country including the capital, Sa’ana, began on 2 April, and is due to continue through May. “The worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a reality that we need to urgently address,” David Gressly, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement. “The numbers this year are staggering. Over 23m people – or almost three-quarters of Yemen’s population – now need assistance. That is an increase of almost 3m people from 2021. Nearly 13m people are already facing acute levels of need.” Escalating conflict last year, resulted in untold suffering and further disruption of public services, pushing humanitarian needs higher, said a press release issued by the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) team in Yemen. A collapsing economy, another product of the seven-year war, has exacerbated vulnerabilities for the poorest, with a record 19m people are projected to require food assistance in the second half of 2022. There are an estimated 161,000 who face “the most extreme hunger”, says OCHA.