Nearly three in four households in government-controlled Yemen are struggling to meet their basic food needs, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
Recent WFP monitoring found that 74 percent of households could not meet basic food needs, the highest level recorded this year and a sign that food security is “significantly deteriorating”, the agency said on Friday.
More than 149,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Rising prices are further limiting access to food. Wheat flour prices have increased by 10 percent in parts of Taiz over the past two weeks, while traders estimate wheat stocks will cover only about two months of demand.
Yemen imports around 90 percent of its food, leaving households vulnerable to disruptions to trade, shipping and supply chains, WFP said.
The agency warned that further instability along Yemen's west coast and around the Bab al Mandab corridor could drive food prices higher and deepen food insecurity in Yemen and the wider region.
Humanitarian access under pressure
Across Yemen, 18.3 million people face acute food insecurity, while 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, including 500,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Fighting has also cut off access to parts of Taiz and Hodeidah, preventing WFP and its partners from reaching about 350,000 people.
WFP said it has assisted more than 70,000 people in displacement hotspots in Taiz and Lahj and is preparing to scale emergency assistance to as many as 1.5 million people.
The agency needs $109 million for its emergency response to assist up to 1.5 million people, as well as $158 million to sustain regular operations, including food, cash, nutrition support and school meals for 2.4 million people through March.
