Geneva - Yemen is facing a nutrition emergency of catastrophic proportions, with three districts plunged into severe crisis and four more teetering on the edge of famine. This escalating disaster demands immediate global action and unwavering humanitarian support to avert further tragedy and safeguard countless lives.
While many countries face food insecurity and shortages, famine is only declared by the United Nations when certain conditions are met, using a scale known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). A famine classification is the highest on the IPC scale, and is declared in an area where at least 20% of the population faces extreme food shortages, acute malnutrition rates exceed 30%, and two out of 1,000 people die from starvation on a daily basis.
Today, 21.6 million Yemenis-two-thirds of Yemen's population-don't know where their next meal is coming from
For the first time, this level has been reported in Yemen by UN experts in three districts. A report published by the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Technical Group in Yemen, covering only areas under government control, found that two districts in Hodeidah Southern lowland and one in Taiz lowland (Makha) falls within Phase 5, which is considered the worst phase of the IPC, and four other districts—Mawza and Al Makha in Taiz lowland, and Hays and Al Khawkhah in Hodeidah lowland—are expected to follow by October 2024.
Yemen's food crisis is a man-made result of the war there, with the most critical cases emerging along the war-torn country's Red Sea coast. The protracted and devastating conflict that began in March 2015 continues to destroy Yemen, already one of the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
War ruins lives, uproots communities, and wrecks food systems, making it the primary cause of hunger in Yemen. In almost a decade, the conflict and its proxy war have killed more than 150,000 people there, caused economic collapse, and produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Today, 21.6 million Yemenis—two-thirds of Yemen's population—don't know where their next meal is coming from, and more than 80% of Yemenis live below the poverty line.
As per the IPC report, malnutrition rates in Yemen have significantly worsened due to a combination of drivers, including a lack of drinking water, a shortage of nutritious food, the spread of diseases such as cholera and measles, and broader economic downturn.
The number of acutely malnourished children in the country has increased by 34% compared with last year, including more than 18,500 children under the age of five who are projected to be severely malnourished within the coming months.
Women and girls suffer disproportionately from food insecurity and malnutrition, and coping mechanisms are becoming increasingly desperate. Women eat last and least, giving priority to children and other relatives or using money for other household needs. Around 223,000 pregnant and lactating women are expected to be malnourished by the end of this year. In addition, early marriage has increased since the escalation of the conflict, and girls as young as eight years old are being married off to reduce the number of family members to feed, or as a source of income in order to feed the rest of the family and pay off debts.
Beyond the four districts projected to slip into famine, according to the IPC report, all 117 districts in government-controlled areas are expected to suffer from "serious" levels of acute malnutrition by October 2024.
About half of the country's population—or 18.2 million people—is in need of humanitarian aid this year, even those hundreds of miles from the front line, because Yemen is critically dependent on imports, humanitarian funding, and incomes that have been knowingly undermined by parties to the conflict.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor emphasises the urgent need for the international community to work towards securing an end to this crisis and an inclusive peace in Yemen, stressing the crucial importance of increased humanitarian support and intervention to mitigate the impacts of the famine and acute malnutrition, especially on the lives of vulnerable individuals like pregnant women and children. Euro-Med Monitor also calls on the parties to the conflict to address the health and nutrition emergencies in Yemen and ensure access to sufficient nutritious food and safe drinking water; and notes that this will require the international community to unlock financial commitments and implement political solutions to safeguard the country's food security and the overall future of Yemen's population, revitalize the shrinking economy, and pave the way for peace.
