In a letter to the New York Times last February, I wrote about
an emergency safety net plan to feed millions of hungry Yemenis
suffering from high food prices. Since that time, child
malnutrition in some parts of Yemen has increased so much as to
rival famine-ravaged Somalia. Maria Calivis, UNICEF’s regional
director, says, “This year alone, half a million children in
Yemen are likely to die from malnutrition or to suffer lifelong
physical and cognitive consequences resulting from malnutrition
if we don’t take action. Malnutrition is preventable. And,
therefore, inaction is unconscionable.” Calivis adds, “Conflict,
poverty and drought, compounded by the unrest of the previous
year, the high food and fuel prices, and the breakdown of social
services, are putting children’s health at great risks and
threatening their very survival.” Neither UNICEF nor the UN
World Food Programme (WFP) received enough funding during 2011
to carry out their full hunger relief missions in Yemen. These
UN agencies rely on voluntary