October Food Cuts Amran

Aid cuts leave millions of Yemenis without enough food

Since fleeing his hometown of Sa’ada in 2015, Mohammed Nasser and his family have been dependent on food assistance. But in April their rations were cut in half. Now he and his community are trying to help each other battle hunger, as famine alarms are raised across the country.

“I have been receiving a monthly food basket from the World Food Programme,” Mohammed says, “and it played a major role in covering our food needs.” The rations contain wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar, beans and salt.

“But since April [2020],” Mohammed says, “we started to receive one basket every two months.”

Some 9 million people in Yemen have had their food assistance reduced due to a shortage of funding from international donors. Unless something changes urgently, even more families will start losing food.

Mohammed doesn’t know why his rations were halved, but he has felt the impact. He and other adults skip meals to make sure their children don’t go to sleep hungry – a common coping mechanism for families facing a shortage of food.

Other ways that families try to cope include getting into debt, shrinking their meals smaller, and selling off their last belongings to buy food.

“It is enough that we [adults] are suffering,” Mohammed explains, “but children are innocent.”

At least half a million children in Yemen are suffering from “acute” malnutrition, meaning they are not getting enough of the right food to grow properly.

Mohammed’s family are also missing mattresses and blankets for protection in the coming winter. Plus there are no latrines in their camp. But they can hardly think about these other needs. “Getting enough food is the priority for everyone in this camp,” he says. “I hope that we can start getting the food basket again each month.”

Photo: Mohammed Hasan/NRC