WFP has a team of spokespeople all over the world who are on stand-by 24 hours a day to answer media inquiries.
Food assistance has so far saved Yemen from the brink of famine, but millions remain in a deeply precarious situation and reliant on monthly food assistance to meet their basic needs. Ultimately only an end of the fighting can stabilize the economy and allow the country to recover. Malnutrition rates among women and children in Yemen are among the highest in the world, with 3.2 million women and children requiring treatment for acute malnutrition. Malnutrition does irreparable damage to a child’s growth and cognitive development, meaning its effects will be felt long after the conflict has ended. Yemen’s food security crisis is entirely man-made. Urgent measures are needed to stabilize prices and rebuild Yemenis’ capacity to secure the basics of life. Prices of essential goods have stabilized in recent months, but they remain way above pre-conflict levels and beyond the reach of millions.
In 2018 WFP reached 939,000 children under 5 and 670 000 pregnant and breastfeeding women (1.6 million people in total) to prevent acute malnutrition and treat moderate acute malnutrition (Jan-Dec). WFP is working on plans to scale up efforts to reach 620,000 children and 710,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women (1.33 million total) in January 2019 with lifesaving nutrition support. More than 1.2 million children went without treatment for acute malnutrition in 2017. Without adequate resources and safe access, we will be unable to reach children whose lives are at imminent risk.
WFP has a team of spokespeople all over the world who are on stand-by 24 hours a day to answer media inquiries.