UN, August 13. /TASS/. The number of Yemenis facing famine could rise to 18 million by February 2026 from the current 17 million, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Ramesh Rajasingham said.
"More than 17 million people are going hungry. This figure may crest 18 million by February next year. Women and children bear the brunt of this disaster," Rajasingham who heads the OCHA coordination department, said at a meeting of the UN Security Council. His speech was published by the press service of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Rajasingham called Yemen "one of the most food insecure countries in the world," adding that as the economy continues to collapse and pressures on the food pipelines mount, many households with access to food can no longer afford it. "Half of the nation’s children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition, and nearly half suffer from stunting. This means developmental delays and infections, and a risk of death from common illnesses nine to 12 times higher than average. In a context where healthcare is desperately inadequate, and where support services are unavailable to many, this is a life-or-death gamble for children," he was quoted as saying. Rajasingham also urged countries to "increase funding to scale up urgent emergency food and nutrition support" in Yemen.
The confrontation between government forces and Houthi rebels, which has been raging in Yemen since August 2014, intensified in March 2015, when a Saudi Arabia-led coalition joined the conflict. The civil war in Yemen has caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.