Hunger crisis in Yemen should be a ‘wake up call,’ UN warns
The number of Yemenis experiencing “catastrophic food insecurity” could triple by the end of June 2021.
The window is closing to prevent another famine in Yemen, United Nations aid agencies said on Thursday, as the war-torn country contends with record-high levels of severe hunger.
Some 47,000 people could experience “catastrophic food insecurity” by the end of June 2021 — triple the current number — the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN children’s agency UNICEF warned.
The aid agencies estimate the number of food-insecure Yemenis at risk of “falling into catastrophic conditions” will increase from 3.6 million to 5 million people in the first half of 2021.
“These alarming numbers must be a wake-up call to the world,” WFP executive director David Beasley said in a statement. “Famine can still be prevented — but that opportunity is slipping away with every day that passes.”
