国連食糧計画、イエメン支援「削減せざるを得ない」　資金難で

【サヌアＡＦＰ＝時事】国連の世界食糧計画は２２日、資金難からイエメンへの支援を削減せざるを得ないと発表し、飢餓がさらに深刻化する恐れを警告した。（写真は資料写真）
　ＷＦＰは声明で「来年１月から、８００万人に対する食糧配給を削減する。ただし、飢饉（ききん）に陥る恐れが切迫している５００万人にはこれまで通りの配給を行う」との方針を示し、「資金が底を突きつつある」と説明した。
　イエメンでは２０１４年から、サウジアラビアが支援する暫定政府とイランが支援する反政府武装勢力フーシ派との間で内戦が続いている。国土は荒廃し、数百万人が飢饉に陥る寸前となっている。数万人が戦闘で死亡、数百万人が避難を余儀なくされており、人口の約８割が援助を受けて生活している。
　ＷＦＰは、イエメンで最も弱い立場にある人々を来年５月末まで支援するには８億１３００万ドル（約９３０億円）、飢饉寸前の人々に来年末まで食糧を配給し続けるには１９億７０００万ドル（約２２５０億円）が必要だとして、支援を呼び掛けている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/12/24-13:24）

The World Food Programme said Wednesday it was forced to cut aid to Yemen due to lack of funds, and warned of a surge in hunger in the war-torn country.
From January, eight million will receive a reduced food ration, while five million at immediate risk of slipping into famine conditions will remain on a full ration, the United Nations agency said in a statement, adding that it was running out of funds.
Yemen has been devastated by a civil war between the Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Huthi rebels since 2014, and millions of civilians are on the brink of famine.
The fighting has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and left some 80 percent of Yemenis dependent on aid.
Every time we reduce the amount of food, we know that more people who are already hungry and food insecure will join the ranks of the millions who are starving, said WFP Middle East and North Africa director Corinne Fleischer, according to the statement.
But desperate times call for desperate measures and we have to stretch our limited resources and prioritise, focusing on people who are in the most critical state.
WFP said that it needs $813 million to continue to help the most vulnerable in Yemen through May and $1.97 billion during 2022 to continue to deliver food assistance to families on the brink of famine.
- Food running 'dangerously low' -
The UN warned in March of a death sentence against Yemen after a donor conference yielded less than half the funds needed to prevent famine.
It had appealed for $3.85 billion to pay for urgently needed aid, but just $1.7 billion was offered at a virtual pledging conference co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland.
Shrinking humanitarian budgets last year forced the closure of many programmes, including health services and food distribution, heaping hardship on a country the UN has said is already witnessing the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
According to the latest UN figures, more than 16 million Yemenis, about half the approximately 30-million population, will face hunger this year. Nearly 50,000 are already starving to death in famine-like conditions.
The WFP's announcement on Wednesday comes as UN aid flights into Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa have been halted following air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition supporting the government.
Flights into Sanaa airport have largely ceased because of a Saudi-led blockade since August 2016, but there have been exemptions for aid flights that are a lifeline for the population.
The Yemeni people are now more vulnerable than ever, reeling from relentless conflict and the deepening economic crisis that has pushed millions into destitution, said Fleischer.
WFP food stocks in Yemen are running dangerously low at a time when budgets for humanitarian crises around the world are stretched to the limit.
We desperately need donors, who were so generous in the past, to work with us to avoid this looming hunger catastrophe.