Famine in Yemen

The crisis already being faced by Yemen, as a result of the six-year-old war that continues in the country, could lead to famine in 2021 with a UN-called conference failing to raise the amount the organisation believed was required to ward off this menace and prevent further deaths in the country. A donor conference was called by the UN, with 100 governments and organisations asked to raise funds of $3.85 billion in order to fund Yemen and prevent the disaster being faced there from worsening. There have already been catastrophic consequences of the war in Yemen with widespread malnutrition, notably among children, and thousands of deaths as a result of the fighting, and the consequent disease and hunger. The war pitches rebels backed by Iran against a government which is recognised by Saudi Arabia and the international coalition that it heads.

At the conference, only $1.7 billion could be raised. The UN believes this is not enough to prevent hunger overtaking Yemen in the coming year and causing widespread famine, which would be accompanied by death and disease. The war has continued for too long in Yemen. The country cannot sustain more fighting and more chaos for months to come. A means must be found to bring the fighting to an end and persuade both sides to lay down arms for the sake of the people of Yemen and for the sake of humanity. Organisations from all sides of the divide must encourage an end to the warfare in Yemen and advocate measures to save the people from further harm.

The failure of the conference also shows that international interest in Yemen is fading quickly. While pictures from the country and the plight of its children have been fairly widely publicised, the Covid-19 crisis which dominated the world in 2020 turned attention away from Yemen. As happens in the case of so many other crises, the world appears to have gradually lost interest in the condition of the Yemeni people and the dangers that they face in the months ahead. Only a consolidated effort by the world can save these people and prevent further disaster in a country that has already faced years of misery and much destruction.