Yemen has triumphed through a difficult past. Unfortunately, remnants of this politically complex past, from civil wars to foreign interference, continue to affect the population today. Hunger in Yemen is rampant – out of a population of 33.7 million, 17 million are food insecure, with 18.6 million also requiring humanitarian assistance. Poverty and hunger in Yemen are not mutually exclusive, with food prices rising by 45% and the expensive scramble to eat resulting in more than 70% of the population residing below the poverty line. Having already withstood numerous injustices, the population shines in their ability to cope, but this does not mean hunger in Yemen can be overlooked, and these harrowing statistics raise the critical question of what must be started, or reinforced, to ensure that Yemen can recover from its rocky past.

Hunger and Poverty in Yemen

Conflict since 2015, from civil to proxy, has resulted in unfortunately growing hunger in Yemen as well as poverty extremes. Around 4.5 million people are internally displaced, with the majority residing in camps. In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Yemen had a score of 39.9, with the range of 35.0 to 49.9 labelled as “Alarming.”

However, this score of 39.9 has dropped from the score of 42.1 in 2015, proving that global action to subvert this crisis as much as possible has been slightly beneficial.

Additionally, more than 308,000 migrants, mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia, are currently in Yemen while migrating through the Eastern Route, according to the INTERSOS. Escaping conflict of their own, these migrants only add to the mouths to feed within the country and intensify the hunger crisis.

Subverting Poverty

Bearing this in mind, The World Food Programme (WFP) and other subsets of the United Nations, have played a critical role in attempting to alleviate hunger and poverty in Yemen. According to WFP, it provides food over 4,360 distribution points across the country, covering all 333 districts of Yemen. Close to 2 million students across 4,600 Yemeni schools received fortified date bars or biscuits every day, under the Healthy Kitchens project.

Each month, the WFP distributes close to “100,000 metric tons of food commodities at more than 5,000 points, reaching more than 8 million Yemenis.”

Reinforcing These Initiatives

In December 2023, the WFP notified the world of a halt in food distribution due to limited funding and no agreement with local authorities on the best way to proceed with food deliveries. Considering the slow yet positive impact of the initiatives mentioned above, it is imperative to intensify the funding to the WFP, taking global action towards mitigating hunger.

Bearing this in mind, increasing WFP funding efforts and encouraging greater food distribution will help ensure the gradual mitigation of hunger in Yemen. Raising awareness, engaging with the WFP and interacting with Yemenis will help drive efforts to resume food distribution and convey the seriousness of arriving at funding agreements.

– Disheta Anand

Disheta is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay