Escalating fighting in Yemen deepens food security crisis

Renewed conflict in Yemen has triggered a surge in hunger that could have consequences in the wider region and beyond, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday. Fighting between Government forces and Houthi rebels along the southwestern coast has forced nearly 150,000 people from their homes, disrupted markets and restricted humanitarian access. “What is beginning as a hunger crisis in Yemen could certainly compound a greater food security crisis far beyond its borders,” Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations, told journalists in Geneva. Families going hungryYemen was already among the world’s top humanitarian crises and “hunger hotspots” prior to the escalation. More than 18 million people nationwide face acute food security, and some 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished. Speaking from Rome. Mr. Hollingworth said that today, nearly three out of four households in accessible areas are unable to meet their basic needs – “a record number for this year in just a few weeks.” “People are finding it hard to put any food on the table, or if they indeed have a table if they're displaced,” he said. “They're skipping meals, ...