![Yemenis receive food aid distributed by United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Sanaa, Yemen on 26 January 2021 [Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Nassima-20210126_2_46568575_61958775.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) today said it will reduce food assistance to war-torn Yemen as of January due to a shortage in funds.WFP said it is running out of funds to provide food aid for 13 million Yemenis. In January, the UN body will provide a reduced food aid ration to eight million people.
It pointed out that, as a result, five million people will be vulnerable to “famine conditions.”
“Every time we reduce the amount of food, we know that more people who are already hungry and food insecure will join the ranks of the millions who are starving,” said Corinne Fleischer, the WFP regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
She pointed out that the available resources will be directed to those in “the most critical state.”
READ: 75% of Yemeni children suffer from acute malnutrition
Impoverished Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.
The war, in which the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) back the Saudi-led coalition, has killed more than 377,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations (UN) official data.
According to the WFP, more than 16 million people, half of the country’s population, suffer from acute hunger, while 2.3 million children are at risk of malnutrition.