WASHINGTON, Jan 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The humanitarian and economic situation in Yemen remains very difficult, the IMF said Thursday, noting that 17 million people remain in a situation of financial insecurity.

The International Monetary Fund predicted Yemen's economy will contract again in 2025, after two prior years of recession, without specifying the extent of the expected decline, it said in a press release.

It issued the statement upon conclusion of a staff visit to Jordan to meet with Yemeni officials.

"The ongoing regional conflict has deepened Yemen's already acute humanitarian and economic conditions, leading to further contractions in GDP and rising inflation," the IMF said.

The Middle Eastern country has seen only three years of economic growth in the past decade, according to IMF data, and has also suffered from renewed tensions caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

"However, the recently announced ceasefire in Gaza has cautiously raised hopes for an easing of regional geopolitical tensions," IMF Yemen mission chief Esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement.

"Capitalizing on these developments and resuming internal dialogue to achieve lasting peace together with continued policy reforms would help improve Yemen's economic outlook," she added.

Since 2014, Yemen's civil war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"Declining aid and disrupted humanitarian operations have left over 17 million people facing food insecurity, widespread malnutrition, and a rise in preventable diseases," Perez Ruiz said.

At least 19.5 million people there will need humanitarian aid by 2025, the United Nations warned earlier this week, expressing particular concern about the plight of malnourished children.