Yemen has been severely affected by the global increase in food prices. It imports over 90 percent of its staple foods. Food and nutrition security are precarious, with very high rates of malnutrition among children and women. In mid-2008, WFP undertook a rapid assessment examining the impact of rising food prices on household food security in Yemen. The assessment concluded that food security has deteriorated dramatically as a consequence of the high food prices; and found 18 percent of the surveyed households to be severely food-insecure, while a further 25 percent were moderately food insecure.
The Government, supported by the World Bank and the European Commission, has surveyed households for an expanded social safety net. The Government’s most recent household budget survey updated with current food prices was used by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to estimate the proportion of population unable to meet its basic food needs. The survey concluded that the proportion of people suffering from food poverty, those unable to even meet their basic food needs, more than doubled from 12.5 percent in 2005-6 to 27 percent in December 2007.
The Government established a food crisis task force to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated response. The task force members, both Government and international partners, have committed to short, medium and long-term measures to address the food crisis. The Government’s safety net programme is almost doubling its coverage from 900,000 households to 1.7 million poor households. However, recognizing that the cash transfers of the social safety net programme are not sufficient for the poorest households, international partners have committed other support measures, including scaling-up delivery mechanisms to address immediate needs for food, agricultural supplies, conditional cash transfers and nutrition programmes. Furthermore, partners are to make food aid available on a grant or loan basis, and expand programmes to address food poverty.
WFP’s response strategy is to ensure that assistance reaches vulnerable people who are at the highest risk of hunger and malnutrition. Food poverty is highly concentrated in rural areas among households with a low education level, a large number of family members as well as among female or elderly headed households. Following consultations with partners, WFP has designed this emergency operation (EMOP) around the following components:
The main objectives of the emergency operation are in line with WFP Strategic Objective (SO) 1 “save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies” and SO4 “reduce chronic hunger and undernutrition”. WFP’s objectives for this operation contribute to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”, MDG4 “reduce child mortality” and MDG5 “improve maternal health”.
WFP’s general food distributions are planned for 6 months only, as it is anticipated that bilateral food donations will be targeted at the poorest households in a similar manner. In the longer-term, other measures to address food insecurity, such as cash transfers from safety net programmes, are expected to improve the food security of the poorest households. Malnutrition among vulnerable women and children will require continued attention: WFP will work with the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) to incorporate the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) into regular health services.
