Yemen is one of the world’s least developed countries, with increasing levels of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Volatile food and fuel prices over the past years have severely affected the country, leaving over one in three Yemenis suffering from chronic hunger. The current global financial crisis is further compounding the situation. The country’s revenue is heavily dependent on oil exports and the sharp fall in oil prices and oil production is having a serious effect on the domestic economy.
Yemen’s population of 23 million has one of the highest growth rates in the world, estimated at 3.1 percent per year. The country suffers from rising unemployment and high poverty rates, with over 45 percent of the population living on less than US$ 2 per day. Low education levels have led to high illiteracy rates at 66 percent for women and 27 percent for men. The situation of women is of particular concern, and gender disparities in Yemen are among the highest in the world.
In Yemen food prices peaked in 2008, however the effects of the crisis continue to be felt, as food prices remain high compared to historical levels and out of reach for many families. Prior to 2008 the country was already reporting alarming rates of food insecurity and malnutrition, which have now further deteriorated due to the crisis. It is estimated that approximately ten million Yemenis, that is 43 percent of the population, do not have sufficient resources to access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy and productive life. Half of the children in the country are chronically malnourished and less than one in ten children live to reach the age of 5.
A variety of internal and external factors are putting further strains on Yemen’s limited resources. Since civil war broke out in Somalia nearly 20 years ago, hundreds of thousands of refugees have crossed the Gulf of Aden, many of whom have settled in Yemen. Over the past decade, a series of natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes, and locust swarms have affected the homes and livelihoods of thousands of families. The country is also dealing with a humanitarian situation in the north-western governorate of Sa’ada, where a five-year conflict has affected over 100,000 people. Yemen is also facing increasing extremist activities inside the country as well as a growing number of Somali pirate groups operating in the Gulf of Aden.
WFP has been in Yemen since 1967, providing over US$ 440 million to the country. WFP is now running five operations that aim to assist over 1.6 million beneficiaries at a cost of US$ 55 million in 2009.
WFP’s five-year Country Programme aims to improve the food security and nutritional status of poor families and at the same time empower women and encourage girls’ education.
WFP provides food annually to over 24,000 malnourished children, pregnant and nursing women, as well as tuberculosis and leprosy patients. The UN agency provides patients with a monthly family-sized ration as an incentive for regular attendance at health facilities, benefiting 170,000 people each year.
WFP has Food-for-Education projects in 18 of 20 governorates in Yemen. The scheme encourages families to enroll and keep their daughters in basic and secondary education. Each school year, an average of 96,000 female students receive quarterly take-home rations, which they in turn share with their families benefiting 672,000 individuals.
In addition to the Country Programme, WFP is currently implementing a series of humanitarian operations in Yemen.
WFP has been providing food aid to Somali refugees since 1992. The current refugee-assistance operation began in February 2008 and ends in January 2010 aims to reach nearly 52,000 of the most vulnerable Somali refugees in Yemen. Life-saving food aid is distributed to families living in the Kharaz refugee camp and urban areas of Aden in southern Yemen as well as to refugees upon arrival to the country’s shores after crossing the Gulf of Aden. WFP also provides food at health centers to reduce malnutrition as well as school meals to encourage class attendance.
Emergency food assistance to families affected by the conflict in Sa’ada governorate began in June 2007. WFP currently aims to assist 100,000 internally displaced and conflict affected people through monthly general food distribution.
In October 2008, floods displaced around 25,000 Yemenis in the eastern part of the country and seriously affected the homes and livelihoods of several thousands more. WFP airlifted food to the area within 48 hours of the disaster. In 2009, WFP continues to provide monthly food rations to nearly 43,000 of the most affected people in the flood-hit areas. .
To mitigate the impact of high food prices, WFP has launched an emergency operation to assist over 630,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable Yemenis in the eight most food insecure governorates of the country. The operation provides nutritious food to pregnant and nursing women and children under 2 years of age, as well as moderately acute malnourished children under 5. The most vulnerable families also benefit from general food distribution.
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