On the brink of famine


Hundreds of thousands face heightened risk of food insecurity in Yemen By Jean-Nicolas Beuze, as told to Lauren La Rose


The country that is home to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis is facing growing challenges. There is heightened risk of food insecurity in Yemen, which is prevalent in areas of conflict where half of Yemen’s four million displaced people live. UNHCR Yemen Representative Jean-Nicolas Beuze shares his insights and provides an update from the ground.


What are the factors that are driving food insecurity in Yemen?


The intensifying conflict and the fuel embargo have made the Yemeni economy collapse and prices of food and other commodities skyrocket. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed that 80 per cent of the Yemeni population was relying on humanitarian aid for their daily survival. If it is difficult for Yemeni families to find their bread and butter under these circumstances, you can well imagine that families displaced by the conflict – one out of eight Yemeni – are particularly at risk of hunger. Having lost their homes and their livelihoods, they struggle to make ends meet.


What are the resources and supplies you need more urgently right now to help address food insecurity?


Our cash assistance program targeting the most vulnerable displaced families is the most dignified way of helping Yemenis. We know from our assessments that 97 per cent of those receiving our cash use a portion of it to buy food. We also know – and this is extremely worrisome – that without our cash assistance program, most families will cut their spending on health care, education, and products for newborns. Many parents told us they would stop eating to make sure their children have something.


You have previously described the challenges of accessing basic essentials during the pandemic. How are you helping people in need cope with the ongoing public health emergency?


Refugees, mainly from Somalia, and local families displaced by the conflict are amongst the poorest in Yemen. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, they were already struggling to buy food, pay rent or send their children to schools. With the slowing down of the economy, they were the first to lose their jobs in the informal sector. Being displaced requires daily impossible choices: to eat or to keep a roof


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Being displaced requires daily impossible choices: to eat or to keep a roof above a family’s head.


above a family’s head. Under such extreme circumstances, buying medicines or soaps can only be deprioritized. Deaths are a daily occurrence in these communities. Again, our cash program increases the choices they can make.


According to the International Organization for Migration, some 172,000 people were newly displaced in Yemen during 2020. What kind of support has UNHCR and its partners been able to provide to these individuals and their families?


UNHCR is at the forefront of the immediate response for these families who have recently lost everything in the conflict. Our first line of response is twofold: emergency shelter to protect them from the elements and cash for families to buy food. Unfortunately, I must be frank: it is difficult to get sufficient funding to deliver these emergency shelters in a timely manner and of sufficient quality to last.


What are some of the key priority areas of focus for UNHCR to further help refugees and internally displaced people in Yemen in 2021?


For Yemenis displaced by the conflict our top priorities remain cash and shelter, while other humanitarian partners focus on other aspects of the response. UNHCR, however, is the sole agency taking care of the 130,000 refugees in the country. From food to health care or education, refugees have little or no access to public services: they rely on us for their survival.


What can Canadians do to continue to support UNHCR in its efforts to help people in need in Yemen?


Continue supporting UNHCR as every loonie matters. COVID-19 showed us that nobody will be safe without every one of us being safe.


Being here on the ground, confronted with challenges that seem insurmountable, it is sometimes disheartening. Knowing that Canadians are behind us, gives us strength to continue going the extra mile to make the difference in the lives of millions displaced. I know that we can count on you to stand with us as we deliver life-saving interventions in Yemen.


© UNHCR/Marie-Joëlle Jean-Charles


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