WFP warns Yemen fighting blocks aid to 350,000 people

Fighting in Yemen has prevented the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners from reaching about 350,000 people, the UN agency warned on Friday, as hunger worsens and resources for food assistance run short.

Access has been cut off in parts of Taiz and Hodeidah, according to UN News and a WFP statement issued on 2 October. Insecurity, disrupted transport routes and rising delivery costs are making it harder to move food into frontline areas.

WFP said its monitoring in accessible areas under the Government of Yemen found that 74% of households could not meet their basic food needs, the highest level recorded this year. The finding concerns areas the agency can monitor, rather than a survey of every household across Yemen.

Food prices are adding to the pressure. Wheat flour became 10% more expensive in parts of Taiz in just two weeks, WFP said, while traders reported limited stocks and disruptions to vegetable oil supplies.

The agency has assisted more than 70,000 people in displacement hotspots in Taiz and Lahj, including by providing hot meals. It is positioning supplies for a possible expansion of emergency assistance to as many as 1.5 million people if the conflict intensifies.

To sustain the immediate response, WFP said it had redirected resources from food distributions scheduled for November. It warned that, without fresh funding, people already relying on support would start facing gaps in assistance within the next month.

WFP put the funding required for emergency food and nutrition aid to up to 1.5 million people at $109 million. It separately sought $158 million to maintain regular operations supporting 2.4 million people through March 2027.

Matthew Hollingworth, WFP’s assistant executive director for programme operations, also warned at the Geneva briefing that instability around the Bab al-Mandab Strait could raise food prices beyond Yemen. He said pressure on maritime routes carrying food, fuel and other goods risked spreading the crisis across a wider region.

File photograph: flags at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 8 October 2016. Photo: Amin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Display crops remain under the same licence.