19 Jun 2015, 06:29 am Print
“We are seeing a serious deterioration of the food security situation because of the ongoing conflict, which is also making humanitarian access difficult,” warned Salah El Hajj Hassan, Yemen Representative for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In addition to the population facing a food security ‘emergency,’ another over 6.5 million people are classified as facing a food insecurity security ‘crisis,’ says the report, released on Wednesday and prepared by the FAO, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in Yemen (MoPIC), on behalf of other technical partners, including a number of non-governmental organizations.
“Unless access to the affected population is guaranteed to provide humanitarian assistance, further deterioration of the situation is very likely,” added Hassan.
Ten out of Yemen’s 22 governorates are now classified as facing food insecurity at ‘emergency’ level, finds the report.
The intensified conflict in Yemen has created a scarcity of staple foods and other essential commodities, disrupting livelihoods, markets, agriculture and fisheries, import, export and commercial activities, among others.
That situation has resulted, the report stresses, in a serious reduction in people’s incomes, as well as difficulty in accessing basic staple foods.
“Until a political solution is in place in the country, we will continue to see an increase in the number of people struggling to feed themselves and their families across Yemen,” underlined WFP Representative and Country Director Purnima Kashyap.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis used to collect these data meets international standards and underwent a rigorous real-time external quality review conducted by the global multi-partner IPC Global Support Unit (IPC GSU).
“The quality review concluded that the analyses made the best use of available evidence to infer the current situation. The findings are invaluable for response planning,” concluded IPC Global Programme Manager Cindy Holleman.
Photo: WFP Middle East and North Africa region (MENA)
- Thailand's lower house passes bill to legalise same-sex marriage
- UN says 758 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse registered last year
- UN migration agency says 60 per cent of migrant deaths were linked to drowning in 2023
- Human traffickers torture immigrants who attempted to reach Europe via Iran
- UN expert urges global action to halt ongoing Myanmar junta atrocities