Yemen on Brink of Famine - UN Warns
Local Editor
More than 17 million Yemeni people are under threat of famine, making it one of the world's worst hunger crises, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] and its humanitarian partners warned on Wednesday.
Officials pin the blame solely on the country's conflict, which began in 2014. "The conflict has a devastating impact on agricultural livelihoods. Crop and livestock production fell significantly compared to pre-crisis levels," said Salah Hajj Hassan, a representative for the FAO in Yemen.
"It is absolutely essential that the humanitarian response encompass food and agriculture assistance to save not only lives but also livelihoods."
But the Yemenis might not get the help they so desperately need. The US government is considering gutting US funding for UN humanitarian programs by up to 50 percent and slashing the US Agency for International Development budget by up to 37 percent.
Even without the United States pulling the rug out from under international development, the global humanitarian system is already stretched to the brink with upticks in starvation, disease, and conflict. Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan also face famine without further international assistance.
"We stand at a critical point in history. Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN," UN humanitarian envoy Stephen O'Brien warned in a speech to the UN Security Council on March 10.
As international organizations and humanitarian groups scrape by with what they have, the most vulnerable in Yemen risk being left behind. There are 2.2 million children in Yemen at risk of acute malnutrition and 462,000 severely and acutely malnourished [SAM], according to the UN International Children's Emergency Fund [UNICEF].
"To put things in perspective, a SAM child is ten times more at risk of death if not treated on time than a healthy child his or her age," said UNICEF representative Meritxell Relaño. "We are seeing the highest levels of acute malnutrition in Yemen's recent history," he said.
The UN and its humanitarian partners released a technical report on March 1 outlining Yemen's deteriorating food shortage crisis in details.
Saudi Arabia launched an Arab-led air campaign against Yemen in March 2015. Over 10,000 people have lost their lives and 2.8 million displaced since the beginning of the crisis.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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