Josette Sheeran, the UN World Food Programme director, warns of a humanitarian disaster unfolding in Yemen. Sheeran said last week, "Rising food prices and political instability have left millions of people in Yemen hungry and vulnerable. Malnutrition is stalking the lives of women and children."
WFP says that even before this year's political unrest, "more than 50 percent of Yemeni children were chronically malnourished and more than 13 percent were acutely malnourished."
During her keynote address at the 25th anniversary of the World Food Prize on October 13, WFP’s Executive Director Josette Sheeran said, "Most of the world is not placed to handle the volatility in food prices and supplies. 80 percent of people have no food safety net." Sheeran issued a warning last week about the effect of high food prices and malnutrition in Yemen. (WFP/Rene McGuffin)
This year's chaos in Yemen has made it much harder for these children to gain access to needed foods. Lack of nutrition for children stunts physical and mental growth.
Lubna Alaman, WFP’s Representative in Yemen, says, "The challenges to reach and meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable are huge, especially in the midst of a very volatile security situation."
WFP is feeding displaced persons in Southern Yemen and also in the North, where years of conflict have left nearly half a million people struggling in hunger and poverty.
WFP is bringing food assistance to around 90,000 people from southern Yemen who have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in Abyan governorate. Most of the families are now living in school buildings or with host families in the city of Aden. (World Food Programme Video)
Article comments