As fighting intensifies in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to limit hunger relief operations in that area. The United Nations is evacuating some of its staff from Sanaa.
WFP is carrying on its relief operations in other parts of Yemen, a country with one of the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition in the world. The WFP mission is plagued by a lack of funding and an inability to reach all of the needy. WFP relies on voluntary funding from governments and the public.
What started earlier this year in Yemen with peaceful demonstrators seeking freedom from a corrupt President has now evolved into a shootout between rival factions seeking to gain power. The fear now is that civil war could erupt in Yemen which will bring immense human suffering.
Millions of Yemenis are already deeply mired in hunger and poverty. Many are getting by on very little sustenance as it is. A civil war will push Yemen closer and closer to famine.
Aisha is an internally displaced Yemeni girl in Southern Yemen living in an elementary school. She is one of many Yemeni children who are suffering from hunger and displacement. WFP and other aid agencies need support in order to carry out child feeding and rehabilitation programs. (WFP/Abeer Etefa)
Yemenis have had to bear the brunt of years of internal strife and poverty. The World Food Programme currently is feeding displaced persons in Northern Yemen who suffered through years of conflict between the government and rebels. In Southern Yemen thousands have been displaced this year from fighting between the government and suspected Al Qaeda militants. WFP is feeding them as part of an emergency safety net operation which is intended to reach over 2 million Yemenis, although lack of funding has hampered this operation.
Throughout most of Yemen, families can barely afford bread as food prices are high. These prices have skyrocketed since protests against President Saleh began earlier this year.
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