The window to prevent famine in Yemen is narrowing as new figures reveal record highs of acute food insecurity in the country, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ (Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ) and UNICEF warned today.
¡°These alarming numbers must be a wake-up call to the world. Yemen is on the brink of famine and we must not turn our backs on the millions of families who are now in desperate need. Make no mistake, 2021 will be even worse than 2020 for Yemen¡¯s most vulnerable people. Famine can still be prevented ¨C but that opportunity is slipping away with every day that passes,¡± said David Beasley, Executive Director of the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ.
ROME ¨C The United Nations Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund and partners, today released the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for 133 districts in Yemen (http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/ipc-alerts/issue-24/en/).
The forecast:
More than 1 million more people in the southern areas of Yemen will face acute food insecurity by the end of the year, according to the analysis.
Acute food insecurity will increase from the current 25 percent of the population to 40 percent by the end of the year in the areas surveyed ¨C an increase from 2 million people to 3.2 million people out of a surveyed population of 7.9 million.