{"id":43933,"date":"2021-04-07T10:18:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T09:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/?p=43933"},"modified":"2021-04-15T14:55:17","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T13:55:17","slug":"yemen-on-the-brink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/yemen-on-the-brink\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemen on the brink: “We have a vaccine for this. It is called food.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
On March 30, the UK World Food Programme (WFP) and Omved Gardens hosted their latest instalment of The Chef\u2019s Table, which this time focused on the food crisis in Yemen followed by a live cook-along. The cross continental zoom event highlighted the critical situation in Yemen and what can be done to help. Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East and the conflict, now entering its sixth year, has led to millions fleeing their homes and food prices skyrocketing. Currently, five million people are only one step away from famine in Yemen.<\/p>\n
British WFP Chef-Advocate Arthur Potts Dawson began by introducing Annabel Symington, Communications & Media Officer for WFP, who described WFP\u2019s food relief work and the crisis from her experience on the ground in Yemen.<\/p>\n
Ms Symington explained that Yemen is a country that has historically imported most of its food, but that \u201cSince the war, the price of food has sky-rocketed and now people can\u2019t afford to buy it\u201d. She added that the coastline and agricultural lands have been mined, destroying sources of local agriculture and compounding the severe economic decline due to the war. Ms Symington explained that just last week she had met a fisherman, Salam, on the Red Sea coast who was unable to fish and that even if he were able to fish, he would be unable to sell much of his produce. The markets have dried up given that the main market \u201cis now on the other side of a front line.\u201d<\/p>\n