War-torn Yemen continues to face one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with conflict, economic collapse, and environmental degradation exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition.
The World Health Programme (WFP) released on Monday, April 22, its Yemen Annual Country Report 2023, providing a comprehensive overview of the humanitarian situation across the country.
Despite ongoing humanitarian assistance, the health organization confirmed that hunger and malnutrition remain widespread across Yemen. An estimated 20.7 million people, or 66% of the population, are food insecure, with 16.2 million in need of emergency food assistance.
“The protracted conflict in Yemen, now in its eighth year, continues to devastate the country’s infrastructure, economy, and social fabric,” the report mentioned, adding that “the collapse of the Yemeni rial, coupled with inflation and shortages of essential commodities, has pushed millions of Yemenis deeper into poverty and food insecurity.”
WFP said in its annual report that its teams reached over 12 million people with food assistance, including emergency food rations, nutrition support, and cash-based transfers. Additionally, WFP provided specialized nutrition treatment to over 500,000 children under five and pregnant and nursing women.
The organization warned that more than half of Yemen’s population, approximately 16.2 million people, are experiencing acute food insecurity, with 5 million people classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and nearly 50,000 people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5), the highest level of food insecurity.
