OMM Redaksiyası
Nearly three-quarters of households in accessible areas of government-controlled Yemen cannot meet their basic food needs, as renewed fighting drives displacement and disrupts markets and aid access, the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) warned on Friday.
Recent WFP monitoring found that 74% of households were unable to meet basic food needs, the highest level recorded this year. The agency said the findings point to a “significantly deteriorating” food security situation.
More than 149,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting, according to the International Organization for Migration. Conflict and rising prices are further limiting people’s access to food, the WFP said.
Fighting and prices deepen food insecurity
Wheat flour prices rose by 10% in two weeks in parts of Taiz, while traders estimate that wheat stocks there can meet only two months of demand. Disruptions to vegetable oil supplies are adding pressure to already high food prices.
Yemen imports about 90% of its food, leaving households especially vulnerable to disruptions in trade, shipping and supply chains, according to the WFP. The agency warned that further instability along the country’s west coast and around the Bab al-Mandab corridor could push prices higher and worsen food insecurity in Yemen and the wider region.
Millions need assistance
Across Yemen, 18.3 million people face acute food insecurity. The WFP also reported that 2.2 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, including 500,000 with severe acute malnutrition.
Conflict has cut off access to parts of Taiz and Hodeidah, preventing the WFP and its partners from reaching about 350,000 people. The agency has assisted more than 70,000 people in displacement hotspots in Taiz and Lahj and is preparing to expand emergency aid to as many as 1.5 million people.
The WFP said it needs $109 million for its emergency response in Yemen, which aims to assist up to 1.5 million people. It also requires $158 million to sustain regular operations, including food, cash and nutrition support and school meals for 2.4 million people through next March.
