World Food: Food security situation in Yemen is seriously alarming

The World Food Programme has warned of the food security situation in Yemen, which it said has become "seriously alarming."

The program said in a recent report on the food security situation issued yesterday, Sunday, "During November 2024, about 61% of the families surveyed suffered from difficulty accessing sufficient food."

He explained that economic challenges, lack of funding, and the suspension of food aid in most areas under Houthi control, in addition to the scarcity of income-generating activities, were the main factors behind this worrying situation.

The report stated that the prevalence of inadequate food consumption reached 64% of households in areas under government control and 59% in Houthi control, while every governorate in Yemen exceeded the “very high” threshold of 20% for poor food consumption, except for Sana’a and Al Mahwit.

The programme pointed to the deterioration of economic conditions in the areas of the internationally recognised government, as the value of the Yemeni riyal fell by 26% on an annual basis and lost 72% of its value against the US dollar over five years, stressing that this contributed to raising prices to record levels and increasing the cost of the minimum food basket throughout 2024.

The programme noted that as a result of the lack of funding, the World Food Programme reduced food aid targets in government-controlled areas from 3.6 million to 2.8 million beneficiaries during the fourth food aid cycle for 2024.