Saturday, April 28, 2012

Hunger in Yemen

Food crisis is increasingly becoming epidemic in Yemen. Reports of starvation and malnutrition among children in Yemen have been gripping headlines for awhile. Last night, UNICEF spokesman, Mr.Mohammed al-Asaadi spoke to al-Jazeera about this issue and said, "Around 1 million children are food insecure and malnourished. At least 120k under-5 children may die between now and end of 2012 if no action taken."




In a recent report by the Economist about Hunger in Yemen, it was stated, "In March, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) reported that levels of food insecurity in Yemen had doubled since 2009. Today 5m people go hungry so often that it affects their long-term health. According to Unicef, the WFP’s counterpart for children, some 30% of kids in Hodeida are “acutely” malnourished, threatened with stunted growth and cognitive impairment. The 30% figure is twice the level the UN uses as a benchmark for crisis. And hunger is rising, says Lydia Tinka, a veteran of multiple African crises who works in Hodeida for Oxfam, a British charity."

I wonder what the government is doing exactly to tackle this issue. It's really sad that politicians in Yemen could ignore the children's plight. Here is two reports done by al-Jazeera about the issue.