Nearly Half of Yemen Faces Hunger
voanews.com
A woman holds her malnourished child at a feeding center at al-Sabyeen hospital in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, June 20, 2012.
Tucked away in the corner of the Arabian Peninsula and somewhat obscured by surrounding Persian Gulf countries, Yemen is struggling with multiple crises: If an ongoing uprising and endless clashes between Yemen’s security forces and al-Qaida militants weren’t enough of a challenge for the impoverished nation, nearly half of Yemen’s people are going hungry, with many facing the danger of starvation.
The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that nearly 10 million Yemenis are “food insecure.” They fall into two categories - five million are classified as “severely food insecure,” that is, those who are unable to buy or grow food themselves, and another five million who are “moderately food insecure,” that is, they are at risk of going without food due to rising food prices and the ongoing civil conflict. Combined, they account for 44.5 percent of Yemen’s population of close to 25 million.
Children are particularly vulnerable. The WFP reports that half of Yemen’s children are chronically malnourished and that one out of ten does not live to reach the age of five.