Three out of four Yemenis will depend on food assistance in 2022, United Nations (UN) officials said ahead of a high-level pledging conference that aims to raise funds for the war-torn country, AlJazeera reported.
The UN has stressed that $4.3bn is needed to address Yemen’s food shortages this year and prevent 19 million people from going hungry, and it hopes that attendees at the conference will meet that goal on Wednesday in Geneva.
“As of now, funding is drying up and agencies are stopping their work in Yemen,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said on Tuesday, adding, “We need to replenish the food pipeline, provide shelter and send a message to Yemenis that we do not forget them.”
Officials have described a looming catastrophe in the Middle Eastern country, which is entering its seventh year of conflict.
Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and with the green light of the United States and Western countries, carried out comprehensive attacks on Yemen since March 26, 2015, to prevent Ansarullah of Yemen from coming to power in the country.
At the beginning of the year, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) was forced to reduce food rations for eight million people due to a funding shortage, with households receiving barely half of the WFP standard daily minimum food basket. Now the shortage of funds is putting five million more at risk of slipping into famine-like conditions.
RHM/PR
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