The United Nations has said it is “forced” to cut back on food aid to Yemen due to a lack of resources, and warned that famine in the war-torn country was expected to increase.
The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula has been torn apart by a seven-year war between Shiite Houthi rebels and a Saudi-backed coalition backing government forces.
“The World Food Program (WFP) is forced to reduce its humanitarian aid to Yemen,” the UN agency said in a statement, warning of the effects of this “at a time of increasing hunger” in the country.
“From January, eight million people will receive a reduced portion of food,” the WFP said. With these cuts, “families will hardly receive half the minimum, normal, daily portion,” he pointed out.
However, “five million people at immediate risk of starvation will continue to receive full portions,” the WFP added.
“The necessary resources are lacking for WFP to be able to continue providing food aid to 13 million people in Yemen,” he said in a statement.
At the same time, he expressed fears that “even more serious reductions will soon be inevitable.” If that happens, the UN agency has complained that “people may be completely excluded from food aid programs”.
About 80% of Yemen’s 30 million people depend on humanitarian aid. The UN agency estimates that “more than half of Yemen’s population, ie 16.2 million people, are facing acute starvation and half of children under the age of 5 (2.3 million) are at risk of malnutrition.”
The WFP said it needed about 721m euros “to continue helping the most vulnerable in Yemen until May”.
And in 2022, € 1.74 billion will be needed “to continue to provide vital food aid to families on the brink of starvation”.
In March, the United Nations, Sweden and Switzerland hosted a donors’ conference of about 100 countries that raised less than half of the money needed to provide humanitarian aid to Yemen.
The UN’s goal was to raise € 3.4 billion, but managed to raise € 1.5 billion in commitments from around 100 governments and donors.
SOURCE: AMPE
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Source From: Capital
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