War zone food security fears

CAIRO: Food security in the Middle East and North Africa is quickly deteriorating because of conflict in several countries in the region, the UN said yesterday.

In those hardest hit by crises – Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya and Sudan – an average of more than a quarter of the population was undernourished, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said in its annual food security report.

A quarter of Yemen’s people are on the brink of famine, several years into a proxy war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Undernourishment in most Gulf Arab states and most North African countries including Egypt had slowly improved in the past decade. But it had worsened in conflict-hit countries.

Several countries erupted into conflict following uprisings in 2011 that overthrew leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Syria’s civil war, sparked by popular demonstrations, has killed thousands. – Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)