Yemen's poor to receive food assistance

Sana'a: The World Food Programme (WFP) has allocated $24 million (Dh88.08 million) to help nearly half a million poor Yemenis to confront the high food prices during 2009, a UN official said on Friday.

A total of 50 kg of wheat will be given to each of the targeted families (54,000 households which includes around 378,000 persons) every month to meet their food needs for six months.

The programme will also provide food assistance to about 190,000 pregnant and lactating women. Children under the age of two will be assisted to protect them from malnutrition for one year.

The one-year assistance programme will also include some 22,000 malnourished children under five years of age.

"This assistance is a bold attempt to curb malnutrition in Yemen and mitigate the impact of the high food prices. Without such effective action, the food crisis will continue to challenge the country, and sustainable development is not possible while so many millions of lives are irrevocably diminished by severe hunger," said John Powell, UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of WFP.

"Even though global food prices have moderated since 2008, Yemen has seen little relief; impact of high food prices is still unfolding. Our first priority is to continue meeting the most urgent humanitarian needs," said Powell who concluded a 4-day visit to Yemen yesterday.

The targeted people were chosen according to a field study conducted by the programme in the poorest areas of the country.

According to the 2008 Food and Agriculture Organization's State of Food Insecurity Report, one in three Yemenis now suffers from chronic hunger, which means about 7 million of its estimated 22 million population face a dire situation.

The WFP budget for Yemen's projects in 2009 is $55 million compared to $30 million last year.