Three out of every four households in parts of Yemen are struggling to meet their basic food needs as renewed fighting displaces tens of thousands of people and disrupts food supplies, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
According to the WFP, about 74 percent of households in accessible government-controlled areas are currently unable to meet their basic food requirements, the highest level recorded so far this year.
The agency estimates that around 10 million people live in these government-held areas.
The worsening food insecurity comes as Yemen, which imports about 90 percent of its food, faces severe disruptions to markets and declining access to humanitarian assistance.
The recent escalation in fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi group has displaced large numbers of people. The Houthis control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.
The WFP said displaced families arriving around Aden and Taiz are often without adequate food or water after fleeing their homes.
WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations Matthew Hollingworth described the situation as potentially devastating for food security, warning that the hunger crisis could continue to worsen if the fighting persists.
The agency is scaling up its emergency response to reach up to 1.5 million people but says it needs $109 million in additional funding. It has already redirected resources from food distributions planned for November and warned that vulnerable displaced people could face interruptions in assistance within weeks without new funding.
Across Yemen, an estimated 18.3 million people are facing severe food insecurity, including 2.2 million children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 149,000 people have been displaced within Yemen, with many forced to flee more than once.
The fighting is also affecting movement across the Red Sea region. The WFP said more than 3,700 people fleeing the conflict had reached Djibouti through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by late September.
The agency warned that continued disruption around the Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz could further increase global food and fuel prices, adding to the humanitarian pressure in Yemen.
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