Yemen close to 'breaking point'

With Yemen close to “breaking point” and nine million people on the brink of starvation, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today said it was scaling up its food aid to tackle one of the world’s worst hunger crises.

More than two years of civil war have cut food deliveries by more than half and pushed the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country to the edge of famine. The United Nations says nearly 3.3 million people, including 2.1 million children, are acutely malnourished.

The situation is getting close to a breaking point in Yemen with unprecedented levels of hunger and food insecurity. Millions of people can no longer survive without urgent food assistance.

said Stephen Anderson, WFP’s country director in Yemen, in a statement.

We are in a race against time to save lives and prevent a full-scale famine unfolding in the country, but we urgently need resources to do this.

WFP said the new emergency operation will cost up to $1.2 billion to feed starving Yemenis for one year.

More than 21 million people, or around 80 per cent of Yemen’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid, the United Nations says.