Food Security Improves in Liberated Yemeni Regions, UN Complains of Houthi Restrictions

A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)
A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)
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Food Security Improves in Liberated Yemeni Regions, UN Complains of Houthi Restrictions

A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)
A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)

The food security situation in Yemen’s government-controlled districts has improved, dropping to 22 percent, according to a new UN report.

The report didn’t cover the Houthi-ruled areas due to the restrictions imposed by them on relief organizations and their local partners.

This Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report covered 118 districts and areas under the control of the legitimate Yemeni government.

However, the number of people facing severe acute food insecurity remains very high and of great concern in the majority of the analyzed districts.

At the same time, the population with severe needs is projected to increase starting June, with Yemen remaining one of the most food-insecure countries in the world.

The report warned that these modest improvements were only a “temporary reprieve” as the key drivers of food insecurity remain and are projected to worsen during the period from June to December 2023.

The report showed that between January and May 2023, about 3.2 million people experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in government-controlled areas, representing a 23 percent drop from the period between October and December 2022.

Additionally, the number of people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) almost halved to 781,000 compared to the estimates for the last quarter of 2022.

During the June to December 2023 period, the report estimated that the number of people likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity could increase to 3.9 million, out of which 2.8 million people are projected to reach crisis levels of hunger, and 1.1 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).

In total, 117 of the 118 districts will be in IPC Phase 3 or above. Thirteen districts are expected to shift from IPC Phase 3 to Phase 4, while 15 districts shift from IPC Phase 2 (Stress) to Phase 3.

The area-level classification is expected to deteriorate further during the projection period for acute malnutrition with all 16 zones being classified in IPC AMN phases 3 (Serious) and above.

The main drivers of the deterioration include a projected 20 percent shortfall in humanitarian assistance, an anticipated increase in food and fuel prices to about 30 percent above the average levels, and a continuation of conflict in frontline districts.

The IPC is an innovative multi-partner initiative for improving food security and nutrition analysis and decision-making. By using the IPC classification and analytical approach, Governments, UN Agencies, NGOs, civil society, and other relevant actors, work together to determine the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations in a country, according to internationally recognized scientific standards.

The main goal of the IPC is to provide decision-makers with a rigorous, evidence- and consensus-based analysis of food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations, to inform emergency responses as well as medium- and long-term policy and programming.

The IPC was originally developed in 2004 to be used in Somalia by FAO’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU). Since then, a global partnership of 15 organizations has been leading the development and implementation of the IPC at the global, regional, and country levels.

With over 10 years of application, the IPC has proved to be one of the best practices in the global food security field, and a model of collaboration in over 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.



Lebanon's Salam Calls for 'Full Israeli Withdrawal' while Visiting Border Areas

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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Lebanon's Salam Calls for 'Full Israeli Withdrawal' while Visiting Border Areas

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Lebanon’s new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, used a tour on Friday of areas near the border with Israel that suffered wide destruction during the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war to call for an Israeli withdrawal and promised residents of border villages a safe return to their homes and reconstruction.
Salam's visit came two days after his government won a vote of confidence in parliament.
“This is the first real working day of the government. We salute the army and its martyrs,” Salam said in the southern port city of Tyre while meeting residents of the border village of Dheira. “We promise you a safe return to your homes as soon as possible.”
The government is committed to the reconstruction of destroyed homes, which “is not a promise but a personal commitment by myself and the government,” Salam added.
Israel withdrew its troops from much of the border area earlier this month, but left five outlooking posts inside Lebanon, in what Lebanese officials called a violation of the US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on Nov. 27, ending the war.
Salam said his government is gathering Arab and international support in order “to force the enemy to withdraw from our occupied lands and the so-called five points.”
“There is no real and lasting stability without full Israeli withdrawal,” he said.
During his tour, Salam -- who also visited the southern cities of Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh — praised the UN peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL.
In mid-February, UNIFIL’s outgoing deputy commander was injured when Hezbollah-linked protesters attacked a convoy taking peacekeepers to the Beirut airport.
On Friday, three judicial officials told The Associated Press that 26 people have been charged in the attack on UNIFIL, including five who are in detention and the rest remain at large.
The officials said 26 have were charged late Thursday by the Military Court’s Government Commissioner Judge Fadi Akiki with terrorism, undermining state authority, robbery and forming a gang to carry out evil acts. The judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said those charged could get up to life in prison.
The officials also said that a bag was stolen from UNIFIL’s convoy that had about $30,000 in cash and that the money is still missing.