Yemen - High levels of food insecurity and reduced rations (DG ECHO, IPC, WFP, media) (ECHO Daily Flash of 04 July 2022)

The food security situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate. There is an increase of 18% in the number of people acutely food insecure since 2021, reaching a total of 19 million people. Of these, 7.3 million are facing emergency levels of hunger. Up to 161,000 people are expected to face famine-like conditions during the second half of 2022.

The Internationally Recognised Government warned last week that Yemen’s wheat stock is set to run out by mid-July. Yemen is 90% dependent on imports for its domestic food needs, while 46% of its wheat imports used to come from Russia and Ukraine.

Amidst the deteriorating situation, World Food Programme (WFP) continues to face a critical funding gap. WFP warned that further reductions of food rations are unavoidable, after rations were cut in December 2021. 5 million WFP beneficiaries in IPC phase 4 and 5 will now receive less than 50% of their daily caloric requirement, while the remaining 8 million will just receive 25%. These reductions will further aggravate the food insecurity of the Yemeni population.