YEMEN / FOOD INSECURITY

The Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) said today (28 Jan) that more than half of the total population of Yemen — some 14.4 million people — are food insecure, as ongoing conflict and import restrictions have reduced the availability of essential foods and sent prices soaring.

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:20
• Production Date: 28 January 2016
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME - WFP
• Subject Topical: FOOD SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: YEMEN
• MAMS Id: 1554741
• Parent Id: 1554741
• Alternate Title: unifeed160128c

Description

STORY: FAO/ YEMEN FOOD INSECURITY
TRT: 01:20
SOURCE: WFP / UNICEF / UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: NATS

DATELINE: FILE

Shotlist

FILE - WFP - 23 NOVEMBER 2015, KHANFAR, ABYAN PROTECTORATE, YEMEN

1. Various shots, World Food Programme distribution centre

FILE – UNICEF- 29 JULY 2015, SANA’A YEMEN

2. Various shots, extremely malnourished baby
3. Wide shot, smoke rising over city

FILE – WHO – RECENT, YEMEN

4. Various shots, destroyed buildings
5. Various shots, child dispensing garbage onto a large pile

FILE – UNHCR - 26 -30 OCTOBER 2015, DJIBOUTI

6. Med shot, refugees walking in the camp
7. Med shot, children walking to a water point in the camp
8. Close up, medical officer observing a refugee patient at the clinic in the camp
9. Wide shot, children walking in harsh conditions
10. Med shot, refugee children walking in sand storms

Storyline

The Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) said today (28 Jan) that more than half of the total population of Yemen — some 14.4 million people — are food insecure, as ongoing conflict and import restrictions have reduced the availability of essential foods and sent prices soaring.

The number of food insecure people has grown by 12 percent since June 2015 (36 percent since late 2014), according to the UN agency.

Fuel shortages and restrictions on imports — which Yemen relies on for more than 90 percent of its staple foods — have reduced the availability of essential food commodities and caused food and fuel prices to soar since conflict escalated in March 2015. Yemen is heavily dependent on these imports, as only 4 percent of the country's land is arable and only a fraction of that land is currently used for food production.

Some 2.3 million people are internally displaced within Yemen — an increase of more than 400 percent compared with January 2015. This puts additional pressure on host communities already struggling with limited food resources.

Adding to the dire situation, Yemen was hit by two cyclones in November 2015, which heavily disrupted fishers' livelihoods along the country's coast lines.