SANAA/DUBAI: The UN World Food Programme has welcomed a $20 million contribution from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to help meet the urgent food needs of the most vulnerable households in Yemen.

With this contribution from Saudi Arabia through KSRelief, the WFP will be able to meet critical gaps in the life-saving food assistance program in three distribution cycles in 2023, averting breaks in operations.

The WFP will procure wheat flour, the main staple component in the monthly food basket, to assist 525,849 severely food-insecure people for up to three months. A portion of the contribution will be used to enhance the livelihoods and resilience of affected families and communities.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment to addressing urgent humanitarian needs has saved lives and protected the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people throughout Yemen,” said Ahmed Ali Al-Baiz, KSRelief’s assistant supervisor general of operations and programs.

The world faces its worst food crisis in recent history. Conflict, climate shocks, and the potential for a global recession threaten millions of people, especially in conflict-riven Yemen. Amid increased food insecurity, the prospects for the country’s recovery diminish.

“Support from KSRelief has helped keep famine at bay,” said Richard Ragan, the WFP’s Yemen representative and country director. “You see the desperation to get food on people’s faces, and this contribution comes at a critical time for the neediest families.”

This latest contribution brings the total contributions from Saudi Arabia to the WFP’s response in Yemen since 2015 to more than $1.86 billion, including $380 million in 2019 which helped the WFP scale-up operations to reach 13 million people — pulling Yemen back from the brink of famine.