According to the IPC round which was released in August 2012, 46 per cent of the Yemeni population or more than 10.5 million people are food insecure; 24 per cent (5.5 million people) are in the emergency and 22 per cent (more than 5 million people) in the crisis phase. Displacement and conflict in various parts of the country continue to be the major threats to food and livelihood security affecting both IDPs and host communities. More than half a million people are internally displaced among which 335,000 are from the North and 210,000 from the South corridor. The situation is further exacerbated by increasing global food prices putting pressure on local markets and people’s ability to afford basic food stuff. Yemen is largely dependent on wheat imports to meet national consumption needs. An Oxfam study conducted in Hodeida, found that families have started to skip meals; children from vulnerable households are taken out of school; and negative coping mechanism such as child labour and early marriage are on the rise (July 2012). Overall, the food security outlook for the next three months is bleak with the potential for further deterioration if international food prices continue to rise and local conflicts intensify.
October 2012
