10 million Yemenis ‘one step away from famine’

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 per cent of the population – are food insecure, marking a 13 per cent 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.

Read the full story on Modern Diplomacy: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2019/03/28/10-million-yemenis-one-step-away-from-famine/.

Katie Martin