Yemen’s Food Basket Jumps by 85%, Govt Considers S. American Alternative

Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)
Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)
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Yemen’s Food Basket Jumps by 85%, Govt Considers S. American Alternative

Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)
Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)

Yemen’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said it is looking for alternative markets to buy wheat from South America and Asia in order to cover the disruption to global wheat supplies generated by the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine.

A senior official in the Ministry said Yemen is considering Brazil and India.

He pointed out that many regional countries that have large stocks of wheat also offered to sell Yemen the quantity it needs.

The government pledged to work on providing credit lines for importers.

Yemen imports about 46% of wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

A food security analysis prepared by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network said Yemen is currently suffering a surge in food prices since it relies heavily on imports to meet its need.

According to the report, the cost of the most basic food basket has increased significantly by 12% since March, up 85% than a year before.

The purchasing power of families has been highly affected due to years of economic slump and conflict.

The analysis further indicated that the years of political stalemate led to weaken the economy and pushed people into poverty.

Displacement led to Yemenis losing their sources of income, leaving people extremely vulnerable to the rising prices of basic foodstuffs and unable to meet other basic living expenses.



The War in Gaza Has Taken a Devastating Toll on Kids, Says UN Humanitarian Chief

A displaced Palestinian child fleeing Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, walks on Gaza's main Salah al-Din road on the outskirts of Gaza City, on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A displaced Palestinian child fleeing Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, walks on Gaza's main Salah al-Din road on the outskirts of Gaza City, on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
TT

The War in Gaza Has Taken a Devastating Toll on Kids, Says UN Humanitarian Chief

A displaced Palestinian child fleeing Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, walks on Gaza's main Salah al-Din road on the outskirts of Gaza City, on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A displaced Palestinian child fleeing Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, walks on Gaza's main Salah al-Din road on the outskirts of Gaza City, on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The war in Gaza has seen children killed, starved, frozen to death, orphaned and separated from their families, the UN humanitarian chief says.

“A generation has been traumatized,” Tom Fletcher told a UN Security Council meeting called by Russia on Thursday about the war's impact on Gaza's youngest residents.

"Conservative estimates indicate that over 17,000 children are without their families in Gaza,” he said.

In his video briefing from Stockholm, Fletcher did not give any figures on the number of children killed. But he said, “Some died before their first breath – perishing with their mothers in childbirth.”

An estimated 150,000 pregnant women and new mothers are also “in desperate need of health services,” Fletcher said.

He said a million kids in Gaza need mental health and psycho-social support for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, according to the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.

Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians, says over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than half of them women and children, reported The Associated Press.

Israel blames civilian casualties on Hamas, saying militants operate in residential areas.