Nearly half a million children in Yemen are dangerously malnourished and at risk of death, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF reported on Tuesday. The figure marks a 200 percent increase from 2014, before conflict erupted in the country.
A host of factors are contributing to the dramatic food insecurity in the country, but aid organizations and analysts tell Devex that the bottom line comes down to logistics. Getting supplies into Yemen and to where they are most needed is a gargantuan task, bogged down by security challenges, fuel shortages and dilapidated infrastructure that has been all but destroyed by a two-year military campaign.
“The primary issue in Yemen is not lack of effort, money, or stuffs. The issue is the logistics of distribution,” said Elana DeLozier, a Yemen specialist and founder of The Sage Institute for Foreign Affairs.
About the author
Elizabeth Dickinson@dickinsonbeth
Elizabeth Dickinson is a former associate editor at Devex. Based in the Middle East, she has previously served as Gulf correspondent for The National, assistant managing editor at Foreign Policy, and Nigeria correspondent at The Economist. Her writing also appeared in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Politico Magazine, and Newsweek, among others.
