WFP fights hunger in food-deprived places, crises, war zones

  World Food Program won bel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger amid coronavirus pandemic, recognition that shines light on vulnerable communities across Middle East and Africa that U.N. ncy seeks to help, those starving and living in war zones that may rarely get world’s attention.

From Yemen to South Sudan, food insecurity is a growing scourge, me worse by a mixture of military conflict, environmental disaster and ecomic fallout of pandemic. Last year alone, Rome-based organization provided aid to almost 100 million people in 88 countries. Here’s a look at some of those places:

YEMEN

In war-torn Yemen, described as world’s worst humanitarian disaster, millions of people depend each month on WFP for survival. Over course of nearly six years of conflict between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition, ncy has faced major challenges in getting relief to Yemenis in need. Violence rs and many aid recipients live in toriously remote regions. rebels, who control capital, Sanaa, and much of country's rth, have long blocked food aid, diverting it to front-line combat units and selling it for profit on black market.

Still, WFP’s large-scale operations are considered indispensable in Arab world’s poorest country, where 20 million people are suffering from a hunger crisis and ar 3 million face starvation due to kck-on effects of pandemic. ncy helped avert famine two years ago.

“ conditions in this country are such that it's impossible for any humanitarian organization to really do its job well,” said Saleh al-Dobhi, a health ministry official in Yemen's internationally recognized government. “Yet WFP is still doing critical work, even more during pandemic. We can say this award is deserved.”

Houthi-run health ministry criticized ncy on occasion of its bel Prize, with spokesman Youssef al-Hhari telling Associated Press that its aid “fails to solve root problems that we suffer from," including “siege" by Saudi-led coalition.

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SOUTH SUDAN

Few places in world are as ravd as South Sudan, where over half population is hungry, even two years after official end of a civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and sent more than 2 million fleeing country.

w widespre flooding has displaced well over a half-million people, furr complicating efforts of WFP and aid partners in reaching hard-hit areas with assistance as food prices rise amid COVID-19 pandemic. And threat of dely violence remains a daily concern in what remains one of world’s most dangerous countries for humanitarian workers. Just this week, gunmen fired on a WFP boat convoy carrying food aid to flood-stricken communities. WFP said three crew members were wounded and ar was missing and likely de.

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SUDAN

In Sudan, where inflation has soared to 166% amid coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented 9.6 million people are facing potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity. cash-strapped transitional government that took power after ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir is struggling to stop tailspin. During pandemic, number of children going hungry has doubled to 1.1 million.

From war-ravd region of Darfur, Ibrahim Yousef, director of largest displacement camp, welcomed news of WFP’s bel award as a bright spot in a desperate time.

“We have been counting on WFP for deces,” said Yousef, director of Kalma displacement camp in South Darfur, ting that ncy’s food aid has most recently helped fend off malnutrition for those in camps suffering from fallout of virus-induced lockdowns, severe floods and bouts of ethnic violence. “Without ir grain many people here would have thing at all to eat. We want this award to send a mess to world that we need even more help w than before.”

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SYRIA

In Syria, rival groups but mostly government forces have imposed months-long sieges as a weapon of war, leing to major shorts of food in populated civilian areas.

eastern suburbs of Syrian capital of Damascus, central city of Homs and rebel-held parts of rrn city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, all came under siege by government forces at over course of country's civil war.

During truces, World Food Program occasionally mand to take limited amounts of food into besieged towns, where dozens have died of malnutrition and hunger-related illnesses.