161,000 to face ‘catastrophic’ famine over conflicts, report says — Analysis
In Yemen, it is unlikely that Yemen will need millions more to provide the minimum food requirements for six months.
A report published by 15 UN agencies as well as NGOs on Monday showed that five times as many Yemenis could face famine in 2022’s second half. It is five times the rate of the current rate.
The report claimed some 161,000 people were likely to experience “There are extreme levels of hunger,” while 19 million people would likely be unable to meet their minimum food needs during that period. Continued the report warns that up to 2.2 million children may be seriously malnourished before the end of this year. This includes more than half a million already suffering from the condition. The report found that around 1.3 million females are also at-risk of malnutrition.
Those figures show several increases over last year’s numbers, which claimed food rations were needed by 12.9 million, but that 3.3 million children and women needed special nutrition, along with 1.6 million schoolchildren. Another accounting of the humanitarian toll from 2021 suggested there were 11.3 million youths dependent on humanitarian assistance, 2.3 million toddlers “acutely malnourished” and 400,000 of those at “Imminent risk of death.”
These statistics were compiled by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification in advance of a yearly fundraising conference at the UN. This group is supported by USAID, UKAID, and EU.
The conflict in Yemen has dragged on for nearly a decade, fueled by arms and support the US, UK and their European partners have supplied to Saudi Arabia, which has been fighting to rout the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and restore the Saudi-backed government in Sana’a. The Houthis, despite living in one of the most impoverished countries in the Middle East have managed to retain a substantial amount of their territory.
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Yemen imports the majority of its food from Ukraine. The conflict has been raging since last month and Ukraine has banned exports of wheat, oats and other essential food staples as well as agricultural exports. With food prices already at near-record high levels, the removal of both Ukraine and Russia from the global commodity markets does not bode well for those who usually depend on their wheat – a factor likely contributing as much as Saudi port blockades to the dire situation in Yemen.
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