World Food Programme Chief appeals for peace in Yemen as agency plans major scale-up of food aid
ROME – A heartfelt plea for an end to the fighting in Yemen has been issued by the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme as he concluded a three-day visit to the country which has become the scene of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.
“What Yemen needs is peace,” said David Beasley. “Only then will it be possible to re-start the economy, get the currency under control and start paying public salaries, so people can have the money they need to buy food and other basics.”
In the face of rapidly rising hunger, WFP is preparing to scale up to provide food and cash-based assistance for as many as 12 million people whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict. WFP is already reaching 7-8 million people with food assistance every month.
“My heart is breaking after what I saw at the hospital in Hodeidah,” said Beasley. “Small children, so malnourished they’re little more than skin and bone, lying there with hardly the strength to breathe. In the name of humanity, I urge all warring parties to put an end to this horrific war. Let the children live and let the people start to rebuild their lives.”
For WFP video shot in Yemen this week: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/yKhABAHzKH
For WFP photos shot in Yemen this week: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/jvj2YsoPt3
To request an interview with WFP chief David Beasley, WFP Yemen Country Director Stephen Anderson, or WFP Spokesperson Abeer Etefa (now in Yemen), please contact david.orr@wfp.org
Beasley is one of a number of top UN officials who will be in New York to address a UN Security Council session on Yemen starting at 15.00 on Friday, EST. The event will be webcast: www.webtv.un.org
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The United Nations World Food Programme - saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.
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