While the world's attention is upon the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Yemen continues.
More than a dozen U.N. agencies and international aid groups said that 161,000 people are likely to experience famine over the second half of 2022 — a fivefold increase from the current figure.
“These harrowing figures confirm that we are on a countdown to catastrophe in Yemen and we are almost out of time to avoid it,” said David Beasley, head of the World Food Program, appealing for immediate funding to “avert imminent disaster and save millions.”
“More and more children are going to bed hungry in Yemen,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF's executive director. “This puts them at increased risk of physical and cognitive impairment, and even death.”
19 million people in Yemen — out of a population of more than 30 million — are likely to unable to meet their minimum food needs between June and December, up from 17.4 million.
Also, 2.2 million children, including 538,000 already severely malnourished, and about 1.3 million women, could be acutely malnourished by the end of the year, the report said.
Yemen depends almost entirely on food imports, with 30% of its wheat imports coming from Ukraine, the U.N. agencies said.
“Peace is required to end the decline, but we can make progress now. The parties to the conflict should lift all restrictions on trade and investment for non-sanctioned commodities,” said David Gressly, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.
'Harrowing figures': Yemen report says 161K to face famine | The Independent
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