Yemen is at the crossroads of humanitarian catastrophe, said international aid agency Oxfam today in reaction to new figures from the World Food Programme showing a radical increase in the number of people facing severe hunger in the country.
Yemen is at the crossroads of humanitarian catastrophe, said international aid agency Oxfam today in reaction to new figures from the World Food Programme showing a radical increase in the number of people facing severe hunger in the country.
The new figures indicate 45 per cent of Yemenis – more than 10 million people – do not have enough to eat, with half of this number severely food insecure and in need of urgent emergency aid. Previous UN surveys in January 2012 found one in three children acutely malnourished in Hodeidah and Hajjah, levels comparable with some areas of Somalia. The UN appeal for the country is just 15 per cent funded.
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| Asma pulls water from the well in Al Fash village in Hays. Hays is an extremely poor area where the population lives on an average of $1 per day and many people do not have access to health facilities or education. |
Joy Singhal, manager of Oxfam’s humanitarian response in Yemen said: “For years, the deteriorating crisis in Yemen has been ignored – and now the country is at breaking point. Hunger now extends beyond the conflict zones in the north and the south of the country – and is at risk of becoming a normal part of life. In Hajjah, families report forcing their children to sleep during the day and night to avoid the hunger pains.”
“Some donors have questioned whether aid can get through in Yemen, but Oxfam’s work demonstrates that aid in Yemen can be delivered at scale and in a manner that is transparent and accountable. In just two weeks in February, Oxfam – working with the Yemeni Post Office – delivered cash to 100,000 people across remote 860 villages in Hodeidah, helping them get the food they desperately need. Immediately upon receiving the cash, many went directly to the market to purchase enough food to feed their families for two to three weeks.”
Some countries including Germany, the UK and Netherlands have scaled up response with tens of millions of dollars in aid to Yemen, but much more is needed from all donors if catastrophe is to be avoided. The figures reveal the situation is particularly grim in rural areas; in the governorate of Hodeidah acute malnutrition rates are the worst in the country at an estimated 28 per cent.
Oxfam said the causes of the escalation in hunger were surging food and fuel prices, combined with political turmoil and violence.
