Several international organizations have warned of an unprecedented increase in hunger and lack of access to food in Yemen.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency International group, on the eve of the eighth year of the Yemeni war, three international organizations issued a report warning of the severe hunger crisis in the country and the urgent need for food aid.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Program and UNICEF, this report has been prepared and according to it, 17.4 million people in Yemen are in urgent need of food and more in levels are various famines and it is predicted that by the end of 2022 the situation will be worse than before and the number of people who are not able to meet their minimum food needs will reach 19 million.
The agencies also said in a joint statement that another 1.6 million people would enter the food crisis, bringing the number to 7.3 million by the end of 2022.
Malnutrition of children under the age of five is another concern of these international organizations in this report. According to the report, 2.2 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Nearly half a million children also suffer from severe malnutrition, which threatens their survival. Meanwhile, there are about 1.3 million pregnant or breastfeeding women in Yemen who suffer from severe malnutrition.
The United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, David Gersley, said in a statement that “humanitarian action must be taken as soon as possible and millions of people must be mobilized.” He stressed the need for immediate food, medicine, safe drinking water and health care facilities in Yemen.
Gersley added: “Peace will end the crisis, but we need to improve the situation now. All parties involved must lift restrictions on trade and investment in non-sanctioned goods, help lower food prices and create conditions for people to be less dependent on aid and to create jobs or businesses themselves.”
Koo Donggio, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), also said that the organization will liaise directly with Yemeni farmers to teach them ways to improve agriculture and increase productivity, and to help increase agricultural production so that there is less dependence on imports in Yemen.
David Beazley, executive director of the World Food Program, also said that the announced figures indicate a catastrophe in the Yemeni perspective, and time is not in our favor.
He added: “If the financial aid is not provided as soon as possible, the situation in Yemen will lead to severe hunger and mass starvation, and if we do not act now, there will be no chance to prevent a catastrophe and save the lives of millions.”
Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), also said: “More and more Yemeni children are falling asleep every day while they are hungry, which has led to their physical and perceptual weakness, to the point that this condition leads to death.”
He said the suffering of Yemeni children should no longer be ignored, as their lives are in danger.
The Saudi coalition’s invasion of Yemen enters its eighth year in less than two weeks, a war that was supposed to end with the domination of Sanaa within two weeks, but the all-out daily and heavy air, land and sea siege of Yemen not only caused it has not surrendered to the army and popular committees, but a military balance has been struck at the military level and in the attacks.