Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
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UN declares Yemen the largest food security emergency in the world
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Persistent fighting along the western coast displaces more than 48,000 people in Ta’izz Governorate
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Insecurity at ports and overland transportation routes blocks medical supplies and other humanitarian assistance
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
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The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that nearly 65 percent of the population in Yemen is facing food insecurity due to the lack of access to affordable and quality food commodities. The number of food-insecure people in Yemen has increased by 3 million from August–February, bringing the total to 17.1 million food-insecure people as of February 21.
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Food prices increased in January amidst food and fuel shortages, which could exacerbate the already dire food security situation, according to USAID/FFP partner the UN World Food Program (WFP).
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As of March 1, escalated conflict along Yemen’s western coast had displaced more than 48,000 people from and within Ta’izz Governorate, including at least 25,000 people from Al Mocha and Dhubab districts, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Humanitarian agencies have scaled up response operations across six governorates in recent weeks.
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The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) began weekly flights between Djibouti and the city of Aden, Aden Governorate, during the first week of March, providing an additional access route for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
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On February 22, the UN requested $4.4 billion by April to meet the emergency food needs of an estimated 20 million people at risk of starvation in Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The $1.7 billion request for Yemen is a component of the $2.1 billion funding request for the 2017 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) released by the UN on February 8. The 2017 HRP was approximately 6 percent funded as of March 10.