UN Warns of Hunger Threat in Yemen

March 14, 2012

(Prensa Latina) Around five million Yemenis are threaten by hunger and a similar number is in danger of falling into that situation, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Wednesday.

  A survey by WFP at the end of 2011 showed that food insecurity in Yemen reached alarming levels and poses a risk for a quarter of the country's population.

The same survey also warns about the worsening of the crisis by rising food prices and domestic conflicts, and that 22 percent of the population striggles to get food, almost twice as many as two years ago.

The UN agency increased to 3.6 million dollar the amount of assistance needed to help the vulnerable Yemeni population.

The survey also revealed an alarming situation regarding child nutrition, with levels of 28 percent of undernourished children in the province of Al Hudeidah, well above the 15 percent considered as an emergency by the World Health Organization.