Aden, the interim capital of Yemen, is living through one of its most difficult chapters since the war began ten years ago, wrote Marwan Nabil.
Nabil, freelance journalist reporting from Aden added “the city is now battling a slow, grinding economic collapse. Salaries have evaporated, the currency is in freefall, and the cost of living rises week after week.
Yet, unlike the battles that dominate the headlines, Aden’s crisis is silent, intimate, and devastating — unfolding inside homes, markets, and government offices.
The lifeline of any society — the public payroll — has nearly collapsed. Teachers, soldiers, medical staff, and administrative workers in government-controlled areas have gone months without pay. Even when salaries do arrive, they have already lost much of their value due to the constant depreciation of the Yemeni Riyal.
For many families, survival now depends on borrowing, selling personal belongings, or skipping meals.
In Crater, residents say the situation has pushed families to breaking point. Anisa Mohsen, an elderly woman, describes life without income as unbearable:
“We ask the government to give us our salaries because our situation is miserable. We don’t even have enough for daily food. Even the ration assistance they used to give us has been cut. We have now spent six months with no salaries at all."
The currency crisis deepens the despair. The Yemeni rial in Aden has reached levels that were unimaginable only a few years ago, dragging food prices, housing costs, transportation, and medicine along with it. Markets adjust their prices daily, sometimes twice a day, leaving families unable to plan even a week ahead.
Local businesses, from small grocery shops to import companies, describe the situation as unsustainable. Electricity outages drive operational costs higher. Importers struggle to secure dollars at stable rates. Investors who once considered Aden a gateway to southern trade now hesitate, fearing a sudden collapse of the banking system or political instability.
The humanitarian impact is severe but under-reported. Health workers confirm that cases of malnutrition among children in government-controlled neighborhoods are rising steadily, driven not by conflict but by economic paralysis.
Local authorities and the internationally recognized government say they are working on reforming state revenues, digitizing collections, and combating corruption. But without a nationwide peace agreement and unified economic policy, these efforts resemble patchwork solutions on a sinking ship.
The fundamental question remains brutally simple: Can Aden continue to function under this level of economic strain without a peace agreement that reactivates national revenues?
Experts warn that the window is narrowing. A fragile peace holds the city together today, but the economic collapse threatens to unravel even the last functioning institutions.