Sanaa, 19 August 2024 (TDI): Famine is looming in four Yemeni districts after instances of hunger have rapidly surged among children in areas controlled by the globally recognized government, a report by international experts revealed.
All 117 districts in government-controlled areas are likely to suffer from “serious” levels of acute malnutrition. Among them, the 4 districts — Mocha and Mawza in Taiz province, and Khawkhah and Hays in Hodeida province — are expected to slip into famine between July and October this year, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC said.
The report reflects the worsening food insecurity in the poorest Arab country that plunged into civil war in 2014, when Yemen’s Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, and much of the nation’s north, forcing the government to flee to the south.
Nearly half of the country’s population — or 18.2 million people — are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, according to the United Nations (UN).
The number of acutely malnourished minors has gone up by 34% compared to last year, the report said. They include more than 18,500 children under five who are expected to be severely malnourished by the end of this year, it said. Moreover, the report found nearly 223,000 pregnant and lactating women are projected to be malnourished in 2024.
Report Confirms Alarming Trend of Acute Malnutrition
The report confirms an alarming trend of acute malnutrition for minors in southern Yemen, said the UNICEF representative to Yemen, Peter Hawkins.
He said that to protect the most vulnerable women, boys and girls, an investment in and scale-up of prevention and treatment efforts are more necessary than ever.
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The report attributed the sharp increase of malnutrition to the combined effects of cholera and measles outbreaks, high food insecurity, limited access to clean drinking water, economic crisis and inadequate humanitarian assistance — all are direct and indirect results of the decade-old war.
