UN warns of millions of Yemenis threatened by famine

A survey of Yemen's food security shows that more than 15 million people are suffering from a "crisis" or "emergency," the World Food Program said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the number could rise to 20 million unless they receive food aid consistently.

The survey, carried out by international and Yemeni experts last October according to an international food crisis classification system, found 65,000 people were suffering from food "disaster" or were close to famine levels, and most of them were living in conflict zones.

WFP said the number could increase to 237,000 unless food aid arrived.

"The humanitarian situation in Yemen is getting worse," said WFP Executive Director David Paisley. "Relief agencies need immediate support to help the people who are on the verge of starvation.

German Foreign Minister Haikou Mas also warned of a "humanitarian disaster" in Yemen if the United Nations-sponsored Yemeni consultations in the Swedish capital Stockholm failed on Thursday.

The German minister stressed the need to put pressure on the parties to participate in the consultations to end the war in Yemen, and talked about the need to deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need in Yemen unhindered. "Otherwise many people will die, and we should avoid this at all costs."

Some 1.8 million children in Yemen suffer from general malnutrition, including four hundred thousand children under the age of five, who suffer from acute malnutrition and need interventions for life-saving therapeutic feeding programs, most of them in the West Coast.

Because of the war, there are 8.6 million children who do not regularly have access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, providing an appropriate environment for outbreaks of disease, according to UNICEF.