Data released by relief organizations operating in Yemen has showed that more than 11 million people received food aid in November.
They distributed more than 100,300 metric tons of in-kind general food, 24,800 metric tons through commodity vouchers and $15.9 million in cash transfers.
However, the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ military escalation, especially in Marib province, and the wave of mass displacement, caused these organizations to need up to $812.7 million six-month net funding during the period between December 2021 and May 2022.
According to the data, the World Food Program (WFP) targeted 11.1 million people for general food assistance (GFA) under the November cycle. Of these, 7.9 million people were targeted with in-kind food assistance, 1.9 million people with commodity vouchers and more than 1.3 million people with cash assistance.
According to the latest WFP food security update, the nationwide average rate of inadequate food consumption in Yemen stands at 43 percent, above the “very high” threshold of 40 percent.
The rate of inadequate food consumption remains notably higher in areas under the Internationally Recognized Government of Yemen, at 50 percent, as compared to areas under the Sanaa-based authorities, at 39 percent.
Military activity continued to be reported in the governorates of Marib, Shabwah and al-Bayda in November.
The number of displaced people in these three governorates had risen to more than 73,000 since the beginning of the year, according to UN organizations.
In Marib, the WFP was able in mid-November to regain access and complete deliveries to its remaining food distribution point in the al-Abdiyah district, which had been inaccessible due to a volatile security situation for close to two months.
The WFP is currently in the process of reviewing the vulnerability status of some 133,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Marib.
Concurrent with this verification process, the WFP is conducting a second round of food distributions to the IDPs.
Distributions started on November 13, and close to 102,600 IDPs had been assisted as of the end of November.
Based on this data, as of early 2021, 16.2 million people, more than 50 percent of the Yemeni population, are estimated to be food insecure. Of these, 47,000 people are estimated to live in famine-like conditions.
Limited access to food is compounded by several factors, including the ongoing conflict, effects of low incomes, depreciation of the Yemeni currency, uncertainty of access to Yemen’s Red Sea ports, large family sizes, high unemployment rates and the irregular or nonpayment of salaries of many civil servants.
Yemen is classified as a low-income, food-deficit country ranked 179th out of 189 countries, according to the 2020 Human Development Report.
At least 50 percent of the population is estimated to be living in poverty, and more than 90 percent of food in Yemen is imported.
