Skip to main content

ECHO provides support for displaced families in Yemen

Countries
Yemen
Sources
WFP
Publication date
Origin
View original

The World Food Programme (WFP) has recently provided urgently needed food for more than 22,000 displaced people in northern Yemen, thanks to support from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO). It is part of WFP’s efforts to reach vulnerable families in 19 out of Yemen’s 22 governorates, supported by contributions from ECHO.

Sultan Ismail, a father of five children, was one of the people displaced from Nehim district into the nearby Bani Husheish area, in the northern Sana’a governorate, who recently received a basket of staple food for his family.

Ismail says he fled his home with his family after fighting erupted in the area.

“I have five children and I escaped from my house, along with other neighbours, when the rockets started to fall in our village,” he explained.

“This [food] will help us to survive and withstand these difficult circumstances for a longer period. I hope this war ends and all displaced people can return to their homes.”

Families previously uprooted by fighting in Taiz, Al Jawf and Marib governorates were also among those who received food assistance at the distribution.

There are nearly 3 million displaced people in Yemen, and 14.1 million Yemenis are food insecure, meaning they are unsure where their next meal will come from. This includes 7 million people who are severely food insecure – a level of need that requires urgent food assistance.

With ECHO support, WFP has been able to provide a basket of food including wheat, beans, sugar and vegetable oil fortified with Vitamin A.

Ismail says he fled his home with his family after fighting erupted in the area.

The European Union has been a consistent supporter of WFP in Yemen, having made contributions for resilience programmes and nutrition interventions for malnourished children since before the civil war broke out in Yemen in 2015.

Prior to the war, the country was already importing over 90 percent of its food and child malnutrition rates were among the highest in the world.

Story by Brook Dubois and Intisar Alqsar