WFP escalates aid operations in Yemen as conflict drives hunger crisis

During the United Nations General Assembly, Carl Skau, the acting head of the World Food Programme, reported that the agency is intensifying its response to the worsening humanitarian situation in Yemen. Following the Houthi capture of the Red Sea coastline, tens of thousands have been displaced, and the conflict has resulted in nearly 700 fatalities and thousands of injuries. WFP has so far provided hot meals and food items to about 60,000 individuals and is preparing to assist hundreds of thousands more.

The crisis now affects over 18 million people, roughly half the country's population, with 2.2 million children under five suffering acute malnutrition. Aid delivery is constrained by insufficient funding and the seizure of WFP facilities in Houthi-controlled areas, prompting Skau to call for additional resources at the diplomatic gathering of nearly 130 heads of state in New York.