Yemen is in the midst of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis with high food and fuel prices, rising poverty, a breakdown of social services, diminishing resources, internal conflict and political instability. In 2012, WFP conducted a Comprehensive Food Security Survey, which found that more than 10 million Yemenis—nearly half the population—are food insecure. Five million of those, 22 percent of the population, were found to be severely food insecure, unable to produce or buy the food they need.
The same survey found child malnutrition rates to be among the highest in the world with almost half of the children under five in the country—two million children—chronically malnourished and one million acutely malnourished.
In response, WFP’s emergency operation is aiming to reach five million people in 2013 with 226,000 metric tons of food commodities at a cost of US$ 230 million. Efforts will focus on three main areas:
• Delivering emergency food assistance to 3.5 million food insecure and vulnerable people and cash transfers to another 400,000.
• Delivering food assistance to 500,000 people either displaced by conflict or adversely affected by strife in the country.
• Providing nutrition support for 400,000 children under five and close to 160,000 young mothers.
In addition to the year-long emergency operation, WFP will continue to implement other existing programmes; including the delivery of innovative take-home rations for school girls, the provision of food assistance to refugees from the Horn of Africa, and the management of the UN’s Humanitarian Air Service.
Total cost of all WFP operations in 2013 is US$ 255 million. By early February, only 24 percent of the required needs had been funded, raising the possibility that programmes may have to be curtailed without additional support from donors.
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