WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the arrival of enough wheat to feed more than one million people for two months in Yemen this morning. The wheat shipment from USAID totals 35,800 tons and is valued at approximately $21 million. It will support the emergency food assistance efforts of the UN World Food Program (WFP).

 

The wheat is arriving at a time of severe food insecurity in Yemen, which has been worsened by the ongoing conflict. Both the United Nations and USAID's Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) recently warned that famine conditions in parts of Yemen are possible if commercial and humanitarian deliveries of food are not fully resumed. 

 

The wheat will be unloaded at Yemen's Port of Saleef, which has specialized facilities capable of processing large grain shipments. After the wheat is milled into flour, it will be distributed throughout Yemen as part of WFP's monthly food rations provided to the most vulnerable food-insecure families.

 

"USAID will continue to support emergency food assistance efforts in Yemen during this critical time" said Dina Esposito, Director of USAID's Office of Food for Peace, "but getting food distributed to hungry families urgently requires that all parties allow unfettered access to those in need and fully commit to humanitarian principles so that civilians are not targeted for violence and are able to access the lifesaving relief intended for them".

 

The United States, through USAID's Office of Food for Peace, is the largest donor of food assistance worldwide and in Yemen. USAID-supported food assistance in Yemen, which includes multi-year programs to promote food security resilience in vulnerable communities, is part of a broader USAID-supported effort through UN and non-governmental organizations to address humanitarian needs including health, nutrition, water and sanitation.

 

U.S. Government humanitarian assistance to Yemen -- including support from USAID and the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration -- totals $188 million since FY 2014.