UN: 6 Million Yemenis One Step Away from Famine

Two men carrying food aid in Sanaa from an international agency (EPA)
Two men carrying food aid in Sanaa from an international agency (EPA)
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UN: 6 Million Yemenis One Step Away from Famine

Two men carrying food aid in Sanaa from an international agency (EPA)
Two men carrying food aid in Sanaa from an international agency (EPA)

As Yemen marked one year since the start of the truce agreement of April 2, 2022, recent UN World Food Program (WFP) data showed that 6 million people were projected to be one step away from famine and that the Program received only 17 percent of its needs to finance aid for the next six months.

In a 76-page report, WFP said 6.1 million people were projected to be one step away from famine or at the emergency level of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) by late 2022 - the highest number of any country in the world.

The Program noted that financing the actual needs plan for the six months from now until next September covers only 17 percent, while the funding requirements amount to $1.15 billion.

WFP also stated that 3.5 million people, including 2.3 million children and 1.3 million pregnant or lactating women and girls, were estimated to suffer from acute malnutrition, with indications of further deterioration.

According to the latest WFP food security data released in February, the prevalence of inadequate food consumption remained stable in January as compared to the previous month.

Close to half of Yemeni households (49 percent nationwide) reported inadequate food consumption during the month, with rates at critically high levels in 15 of 22 governorates.

Internally, the Program said a six-month nationwide truce precipitated the most peaceful period since the start of the conflict.

However, it added that the security situation remained volatile, and shrinking humanitarian space, especially in areas under Houthi militias’ authorities, directly affected WFP activities. Externally, the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict spurred increased needs, growing operating costs, and decreased funding, curtailing the scope and scale of WFP interventions.

However, WFP’s ability to deliver a principled response was hampered by a notable increase in attempts at interference, bureaucratic hurdles and delays, as well as movement and access restrictions. The majority of these were encountered in Houthi-controlled areas, it said.

The Program stated that especially concerning was an increasingly strict enforcement of practices that restrict women’s freedom of movement.

“These impacted both women’s ability to access services, as well as the ability of women WFP national staff members to conduct field work,” according to the report.

It noted that the restrictions imposed on women’s freedom of movement in areas under the Sanaa-based authorities were usually enforced when travelling between districts or further.

Meanwhile, WFP said it faced delays in the approval of permits and sub-agreements impeded planned activities. “Restrictions on the use of financial service providers delayed WFP’s scale-up of the use of cash-based transfers,” the report added.

It then noted that the positive impacts of the truce were tempered by a shrinking space for principled humanitarian action. “The humanitarian community reported more than 3,500 access incidents in 2022, affecting the provision of assistance to at least five million people,” the report explained.

WFP also said it focused most of its available resources on meeting the enormous food assistance needs in Yemen with life-saving unconditional resource transfers and that it worked to prevent and treat malnutrition through an expanded portfolio of nutrition activities, improved children’s food intake and increased school attendance through school feeding and worked to safeguard livelihoods, build resilience, and revitalize smallholder agricultural production.

According to the March 2022 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Acute Malnutrition (IPC AMN) analysis, approximately 2.2 million children under five, and 1.3 million pregnant and lactating women and girls suffered from acute malnutrition, WFP stressed, adding that overall, it provided nutrition assistance to 3.3 million people, including 1.7 million children.



Arab League: Gaza ‘Is Not for Sale’

Abu Al-Gheit during the meeting of the Economic and Social Council (Arab League)
Abu Al-Gheit during the meeting of the Economic and Social Council (Arab League)
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Arab League: Gaza ‘Is Not for Sale’

Abu Al-Gheit during the meeting of the Economic and Social Council (Arab League)
Abu Al-Gheit during the meeting of the Economic and Social Council (Arab League)

The Arab League has reiterated its firm opposition to any attempts to displace Palestinians. Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit declared on Thursday that Gaza “is not for sale” and called for an “emergency relief plan” to support the Palestinian people.

Speaking at the opening session of the 115th ministerial meeting of the Economic and Social Council at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Aboul Gheit emphasized the fast-moving developments in the Arab region.

He condemned Israel’s ongoing expansionist policies in the West Bank and the repositioning of its military forces, as well as rising calls from Israeli and American voices advocating for the forced displacement of Palestinians.

He reaffirmed the Arab League’s unwavering stance, rejecting any attempts to remove Palestinians from their land under any pretext.

The Arab official also warned that such actions constitute a clear violation of international law, an infringement on Palestinian rights, and a direct threat to the Palestinian cause, which he described as “the central issue of the Arab world.”

“Gaza is not for sale,” Aboul Gheit stated. “For Palestinians and Arab nations alike, it is an inseparable part of the future Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, alongside the West Bank, with no separation between them, in line with the internationally recognized two-state solution.”

Palestinian Minister of Economy Mohammed Al-Amour also said: “Any talk of displacing our people from Gaza or the West Bank is nothing but an illusion that has no place in reality.”

He praised the steadfast Arab position in rejecting any attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause, stating: “Gaza will not break, and Palestine will never surrender.”

Al-Amour also commended Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan for their firm stance against forced displacement and their support for Palestinian statehood.

“Our people are not excess baggage, nor can they be forcibly removed,” he asserted. “Palestine is neither for sale nor for trade.”

The Economic and Social Council meeting comes amid widespread regional and international condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take control of Gaza” and transform it into what he described as the “Middle East Riviera.”

His plan also suggested that Egypt and Jordan should accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza—an idea that Cairo and Amman have repeatedly rejected, viewing it as an attempt to erase the Palestinian cause.

Regarding the situation in Gaza, Aboul Gheit stressed the need for continued and effective Arab action on all international and regional fronts—politically, economically, and socially—to mitigate the devastating consequences of Israeli crimes.

He stated that Israel’s war, which began in October 2023, has yet to reveal its full toll. “Beyond the human losses, this is the costliest war in every sense. The material devastation is immense, and the psychological scars left on the Arab consciousness will take years to heal,” he said.

Aboul Gheit urged the Economic and Social Council to adopt emergency relief plans to support the Palestinian people. He also called for clear mechanisms to ensure the coordinated and comprehensive implementation of these plans, as well as the effective management of Arab aid efforts.