United Nations warns that millions of Yemenis are at risk of starving

United Nations warns that millions of Yemenis are at risk of starving

Hayat, 30, fled from Taiz, Yemen, after airstrikes flattened her village, Al Barh in Taiz govt. Her husband was killed when their home was hit. She sold the gold bracelets her husband had given her two daughters to pay for a car to flee to safety. She was pregnant with her third daughter at the time. She first fled with her husband’s family but they became abusive, so she left and fled to Mokha alone with her daughters. She said at the time she was so hungry that she ate an onion she found on the ground. It made her sick. “I could not find anything to eat or to feed my children. I cannot express that feeling of hunger. I just cried for my children.” Hayat now lives in a very basic IDP settle in Mokha. A small makeshift hut home, there is no water in the area. The dust and wind on the coast are brutal. Hayat receives WFP food assistance. She said she eats nothing else. She can’t afford even a few vegetables. WFP food assistance provides the staples - flour for bread, pulses for a stew, and oil, sugar and saflt. But it’s not enough on its own. Children: Karima, 7, Bagdhad, 4, Fatooma, 3

The United Nations has warned that millions of Yemenis are at risk of starvation as a result of the economic collapse resulting from the US-Saudi aggression on Yemen for the 7th year in a row, calling for “urgent action to be taken.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), through its mission in Yemen, said on Twitter: “Children in Yemen are not starving because of lack of food, but because their families cannot afford food.”

“The impact of the economic collapse on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen cannot be understood,” it added, stressing that “without urgent action, millions could be plunged into famine.”

The international organisation “Save the Children” warned last month that about 4.3 million children in Yemen will lose all humanitarian aid during the coming March, due to the decline in donor pledges, which threatens to stop life-saving aid to millions in Yemen.

The United Nations previously announced the reduction of vital relief programs in Yemen, due to a lack of funding, including to programs in the areas of food, health and water, as it received only $2.68 billion out of the $3.85 billion it requested in 2021 from donors to implement its program.

The United Nations says the seven-year war, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, with the economy collapsing, and leading to the single worst humanitarian crisis in the world.