For several months, the Biden Administration has stored some 60,000 metric tons of wheat in holding warehouses in the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates. The food — originally destined for millions of hungry Yemeni civilians in territory controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels — is a bargaining chip in a high-stakes United Nations negotiation over who gets to decide how aid is distributed.
The United States' action is aimed at giving the World Food Programme leverage as it seeks to persuade the Houthis to relinquish some control over how aid is delivered on its territory and permits the U.N. to refine its list of beneficiaries to ensure that food goes to those with the greatest need. Those negotiations have dragged on for more than a year.
Frustrated with the pace of talks, the Rome-based food agency in December suspended a general food program that once targeted more than 9 million people in northern Yemen — though it continues its nutrition and school feeding programs. Still, the cut in wheat, oil, and other staples has exacted a high cost for millions of Yemeni civilians, who have been caught in the middle of a geopolitical food fight, forced to endure months of survival with less and less sustenance.
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
