Up to 20 million Yemeni\u2019s \u2014 two-thirds of the country\u2019s population \u2014 are food insecure, primarily because of the war that has ravaged the impoverished country.
\nA joint statement issued Saturday by the U.N.\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF and the World Food Program said the conflict has contributed to the \u201cworld\u2019s worst humanitarian crisis.\u201d
\nThe agencies cited an analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a food security survey that helps determine whether to declare famine in countries.
\n\u201cAlready 15.9 million people wake up hungry\u201d in Yemen, the agencies said of the findings, which also said 20 million people are facing \u201csevere acute food insecurity.\u201d
\nWFP head David Beasley said \u201ca massive increase in aid and sustained access to all areas of Yemen\u201d are needed to help alleviate the crisis. He warned if those actions are not taken, \u201cwe will lose an entire generation of children to hunger.\u201d
\nWhile the report cited war as the main cause of the crisis, it said the crisis also was exacerbated by skyrocketing food prices and high unemployment levels.
\nThe crisis spiraled out of control after a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive in March 2015 to support the Yemeni government against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.
\nThe catastrophe has claimed the lives of at least 10,000 people, the World Health Organization estimates.
\nThe war also has taken a heavy toll on the country\u2019s economy, with the World Bank reporting it has contracted by about 50 percent since 2015.
\nThe report was disclosed as Yemeni government officials and rebel representatives held U.N.-brokered peace talks in Sweden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Up to 20 million Yemeni\u2019s \u2014 two-thirds of the country\u2019s population \u2014 are food insecure, primarily because of the war that has ravaged the impoverished country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c54-reports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n