Situation expected to deteriorate if fighting continues – over half of the population living in crisis

Figure: At least 7 million people across Yemen are living under Emergency levels of food insecurity. A further 7.1 million people are in a state of Crisis, according to the latest assessment.

Joint FAO-WFP news release

FAO 21 June 2016, Rome/Sana'a - Vast swathes of Yemen - 19 out of 22 governorates - are facing severe food insecurity according to a new joint  assessment by the UN and partners, which warns that the situation within affected areas is likely to deteriorate if conflict persists.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis confirms that over half the country's population is living in "crisis" or "emergency" levels of food insecurity, with some governorates seeing as much as 70 percent of their population struggling to feed themselves.

At least 7 million people - a quarter of the population - are living under Emergency levels of food insecurity (Phase 4 on the five-tiered IPC scale). This reflects a 15-percent increase since June 2015. A further 7.1 million people are in a state of Crisis (Phase 3).

"The IPC results clearly show the huge magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen," said Jamie McGoldrick, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen. "This is one of the worst crises in the world and is continuing to get worse. Conflict has taken a very heavy toll on the country and its people, exacerbated widespread vulnerability and virtually destroyed household coping mechanisms. As a result, food insecurity, remains unacceptably high."

See more http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/419189/icode/