Famine looming in Yemen as food insecurity surges among children, aid workers say

About half of the country’s population – or 18.2 million people – are in need of humanitarian aid this year, according to the United Nations.

The number of acutely malnourished children has increased by 34 per cent compared to last year, the report said. They include more than 18,500 children under five who are projected to be severely malnourished by the end of this year, it said. Additionally, the report found about 223,000 pregnant and lactating women are expected to be malnourished in 2024.

“The report confirms an alarming trend of acute malnutrition for children in southern Yemen,” said the Unicef representative to Yemen, Peter Hawkins. “To protect the most vulnerable women, girls, and boys, an investment in and scale-up of prevention and treatment efforts are more critical than ever.”

The report attributed the sharp rise of malnutrition to the combined effects of cholera and measles outbreaks, high food insecurity, limited access to safe drinking water, economic decline and inadequate humanitarian aid – all are direct and indirect results of the decade-old war.

The IPC is a global partnership of 15 UN agencies and humanitarian organizations working in Yemen and funded by the European Union, the US and the UK.

A famine is declared in an area when one in five people or households severely lack food and face starvation and destitution that would ultimately lead to critical levels of acute malnutrition and death.

“These findings should be a wake-up call that lives are at stake,” said Pierre Honnorat, the World Food Program director in Yemen. “It is critical to step up support to the most vulnerable who could sink deeper into food insecurity and malnutrition if current low levels of humanitarian funding persist.”

Addressing the UN Security Council earlier this month, Lisa Doughten, a senior UN humanitarian official, said the Houthi measures negatively affected aid operations in areas under their control.

“The environment in these areas is growing more constrained at a time when humanitarians are already struggling to meet the needs of millions of people across the country,” she said.