December 2011 Mission report Yemen

Nutritional crisis in at least two governorates:

Recent surveys in Hajjaj and then in Hodeyda show that these two governorates are in a serious nutritional emergency situation. Global acute malnutrition levels are well beyond the emergency threshold with 30% of under-five children suffering from acute malnutrition (GAM). In Hajjah late nutrition's survey publication was not followed by an emergency response operation. Malnutrition in Yemen is not the result of conflict affecting mainly IDPs but of the combined political and economical crisis on top of already very high rates of wasting before the current crisis. This silent emergency is now emerging full force and there is an urgent need to scale up the very limited and patchy nutritional capacity together with massive food assistance related interventions to respond to this crisis