UN food agency says 13 million Yemenis may face starvation

The head of the U.N. food agency has warned that 13 million Yemenis are headed for starvation due to a protracted civil conflict and a lack of funding for humanitarian aid

SANAA, Yemen -- The head of the U.N. food agency has warned that 13 million Yemenis are headed for starvation due to a protracted civil conflict and a lack of funding for humanitarian aid.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, David Beasley said that Yemen was “in a very bad situation” with more than 40 percent of the population already relying on food supplies from the World Food Program.

"We’re feeding 13 million people out of a nation of 30 million people, and we are running out of money,” Beasley said, speaking from the capital, Sanaa.

Since the pandemic hit, more people have been facing the threat of starvation globally, which put tremendous pressures on the WFP, Beasley said. Now, 285 million people around the world face the threat of starvation, which makes it more difficult to attend to Yemen's needs, he added.