Trump cut the contribution to the Peace Prize winner in half. Later, the children in the war zone received less food.

20 million people in Yemen need help getting food. The World Food Program is fighting to raise money to help them.

When Sultan was born, he was very weak. Safiah, who was weakened by food shortages, hoped breast milk would help her. But Sultan did not improve. At the health clinic, the message was clear: the boy was severely malnourished.

– I was so afraid of losing it, says the mother in an interview with the World Food Program (WFP).

On Friday, it was announced that WPF will receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The leader of the Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, justified the decision on the grounds that “the connection between hunger and conflict is a vicious circle.”

Yemen is probably the clearest example of what he means.

360,000 are in danger of death

The population of the small country on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula has been affected by many crises at the same time. The civil war has torn the country apart since 2014. The conflict is currently unfolding on 40 different fronts.

The conflict creates refugees. And a huge food shortage. Today, WFP helps 13 of the country’s 30 million people to avoid starvation.

– Yemen was a country in deep anguish even before the conflict began. We contributed food to about a million people at that time. But now it is almost half the population. This is an extreme situation, says Annabel Symington, WFP’s communications manager for Yemen.

The sultan recovered as soon as he received help at the health post. Today he is 18 months old and healthier than when he was born. But he still needs treatment, as do two million other children in the war-torn country.

Up to 360,000 of them are at risk of dying if they do not receive the help they need.

– I do everything I can so that my children do not go to sleep hungry, says Safiah, Sultan’s mother.

They have only received half the money they need.

Lately it has become even more difficult than before. Previously, her husband, Arafat, 37, could go to the food station every month to fill the wheelbarrow with flour, dried beans, oil, sugar and salt.

Food aid is now only available every two months at the WFP station in the capital Sana’a.

The reason: the world food program badly needs money. In early 2020, the organization asked the world community for $ 2.1 billion (about $ 20 billion) to work in Yemen.

So far, they have only received half, says Symington.

– This means that we run the risk of further reducing food supplies, he says.

Trump cut the contribution

So far, WFP has managed to maintain weekly deliveries for Yemen’s four million most vulnerable inhabitants. But these too must switch to food aid every two weeks if the organization does not receive more money.

“We need about $ 500 million before the end of the year to stay operational,” Symington said.

The most dramatic cut for WFP this year has come from the United States. This year, the Trump administration cut additional funding for emergency aid in Yemen in half, according to UN figures.

Trump has long been highly critical of multilateral organizations. It has drastically cut financial contributions to several of them. It has also withdrawn the United States from the United Nations World Health Organization and UNESCO.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also cut crisis aid to Yemen this year. The cuts are likely related to the fact that these countries believe that the Houthi rebels are abusing emergency aid, supported by arch-enemy Iran, writes CNN.

I hope the peace prize provides new income

The World Food Program is currently active in 80 countries. Every day, around 100 million people receive food aid from the organization.

The world food program has an annual budget of around NOK 25 billion. The United States remains by far the largest contributor, despite recent cuts. Norway is also among the largest donors, with an annual contribution of around 90 million dollars (around 825 million crowns).

LDCs depend on voluntary contributions from countries, organizations and individuals, which makes them more vulnerable than other UN agencies.

Now Symington hopes that the Peace Prize will contribute to more attention and more money.

– We are incredibly happy and proud of the recognition we have now received from the Nobel Committee. It is very important to highlight the connection between conflict and food shortages. If the conflicts end, there will also be fewer hungry people. We see this more clearly in a country like Yemen, Symington tells Aftenposten.