With Yemen now in its fifth year of conflict between pro-Government forces and Houthi rebels, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for “unhindered access” to the most desperate areas in the frontline regions “to prevent the food security situation deteriorating”.
“Today twenty million Yemenis – some 70 percent of the population – are food insecure, marking a 13 percent increase from last year”, WFP Spokesperson Herve Verhoosel told reporters at a regular press briefing in Geneva. “Nearly 10 million of them are one step away from famine”.
After receiving reports that intensive clashes erupted in several locations within Hudaydah city, including an attack yesterday on a key supply route from Hudaydah to Sana’a, WFP expressed security concerns in ensuring proper humanitarian support by WFP and other UN agencies.
Hudaydah has been the focus of clashes between Government forces and Houthi opposition fighters. It is a crucial gateway for the entry of aid, desperately needed to save millions of Yemenis from humanitarian support.
In the last six months, the number of people displaced by violence has increased sharply from 203,000 to around 420,000.
WFP’s ongoing rapid-response food rations have been able to support over 5,000 families and Hajjah governorate has around 200 food distribution points covering 1.5 million people.
“In the next few days WFP will begin distributing food rations to all families in Kushar district”, Mr. Verhoosel said.
WFP is scaling up this year to reach 12 million people each month; a 50 percent increase over its 2018 targets, including eight million with food rations; 2.4 with commodity vouchers and, eventually, 1.6 million with cash assistance.
Original source: UN News
Published on 26 March 2019
