From January, eight million hungry people in Yemen will receive reduced food rations, while another five million people at immediate risk of starvation will still be provided with adequate rations.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures and we must ramp up our limited resources and prioritize and focus on those who are most critically ill.” speak Corinne Fleischer, Regional Director of the World Food Program (WFP) for the Middle East and North Africa.
Lowest score
The cuts come at the worst possible time for families in Yemen who depend on WFP food assistance to survive.
As the currency depreciated and hyperinflation brought the economy to near collapse, inadequate food consumption rose rapidly, affecting half of all households in the past three months.
And Food prices have more than doubled in most of Yemen throughout the year.
Meanwhile, fighting on multiple fronts continues to force families to flee.
“The The people of Yemen are now more vulnerable than ever, reeling from unrelenting conflict and a deepening economic crisis that has pushed millions of people into dire straits,” said Ms. Fleischer.
It’s getting worse and worse
Starting in January, families will receive only half of the WFP minimum daily serving.
Moreover, Without new funding, more severe cuts will soon be inevitable, perhaps even cutting people off from food assistance programs altogether.
Malnutrition treatment and school meals can also be alleviated.
“Every time we reduce food intake, we know that more people will go hungry and food is not available, joining the millions of people who are starving,” said the WFP official.
Stocks ‘dangerously low’
Currently, more than half of Yemen’s population – about 16.2 million – faces acute hunger and 2.3 million children under the age of 5 are at risk of malnutrition.
“WFP food stocks in Yemen are at dangerously low levels at a time when funding for humanitarian crises around the world is stretched to the limit,” said Ms. Fleischer.
WFP needs $813 million to continue supporting the most vulnerable people in Yemen through the end of May.
And by 2022, the agency will need $1.97 billion to continue providing vital assistance to families on the brink of starvation.
“We desperately need sponsors, who have been very generous in the past, to Work with us to avoid this looming famine disaster.”, she concluded.
© WFP / Annabel Symington
Children receive treatment for malnutrition at a WFP-supported mobile clinic in Lahj, Yemen.
