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Foodgrains Bank responds to devastation in Yemen

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Vulnerable families in Yemen suffering from extreme hunger will receive emergency food through a new project of Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

The project is led by Foodgrains Bank member ADRA Canada, and supported financially by other members and the Government of Canada.

“We are devastated at the news coming out of Yemen. The people of Yemen are enduring atrocities that no human being should have to live through,” says Foodgrains Bank executive director Jim Cornelius.

Hunger, disease and bombs are devastating the lives of millions of people as the war in Yemen continues into its fourth year. About 8.4 million people in the country are at risk of starvation.

Through the new project, 1,100 vulnerable families will receive emergency food rations of flour, beans, oil, sugar and salt.

The families live in the Harib Alqaramish district of Yemen. The area has experienced extremely intense conflict, including airstrikes and frequent bombardment. Many homes have been destroyed.

Civilians are a frequent target in the wider conflict as well. Assaults on World Food Programme facilities in Yemen’s ports are another example of how innocent people are being made to suffer.

In early August, an air strike in Yemen hit a market, killing 40 people and injuring 60, with children on a bus among the casualties. Ordinary people in Yemen are also targeted by other means, including blocking of aid shipments, and refusals to allow imports of food.

Providing emergency assistance within Yemen is difficult due to the ongoing conflict, and the refusal of combatants to allow for emergency assistance for civilians.

Other Foodgrains Bank members providing financial support are Development and Peace—Caritas Canada, Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, World Renew and The United Church of Canada. Project activities are undertaken with support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.

[Amanda Thorsteinsson, communications coordinator

 

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