The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes EUR 37 million from the European Union (EU) to support the humanitarian response in Yemen and provide emergency food assistance in response to an alarming rise in food insecurity which has left millions on the brink of famine.
The EU funds will allow WFP to continue to address the urgent food needs of nearly 13 million people in the country through food distributions or cash assistance. Over half of all Yemenis are unable to afford basic food items as over six years of conflict has displaced millions, destroyed livelihoods and left the economy in tatters.
Conditions in Yemen have worsened over the past 12 months and pockets of famine have returned to the country for the first time in two years.
“Thousands of Yemenis are already experiencing famine-like conditions and many more are threatened by intensified fighting and the COVID-19 surge. How much more will Yemenis be forced to bear? The EU will not abandon them in their hour of need,“ said European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič. “The new EU funding to WFP shows our sustained commitment to ensuring lifesaving food assistance and humanitarian aid reach those most in need. This is the time for everyone to step up and for warring parties to end the conflict that has inflicted years of suffering on the population.”
New contributions from the EU and other key donors have allowed WFP to resume monthly food distributions in Yemen’s worst hunger hotspots over the last few months, a year after funding shortfalls and operational challenges forced ration cuts in Yemen’s north.
More than 350,000 people in 11 districts facing famine-like conditions (IPC5) have received monthly assistance since February. While nearly 6 million people in the nine governorates with the highest rates of emergency food insecurity (IPC4) will receive monthly support from June.
Source: WFP
