Looming banking crisis in Yemen risks pushing millions into famine

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2016/03/looming-banking-crisis-in-yemen-risks-pushing-millions-into-famine


A year of devastating conflict in Yemen compounded by a looming banking crisis risks pushing millions into famine, warns Oxfam today one year on from the escalation of war.


Airstrikes, fighting and indiscriminate shelling have killed more than 6,100 people, forced 2.4 million people from their homes, and left 21.2 million - 82 percent of the population - in dire need of humanitarian aid.

The destruction of farms and markets, a de facto blockade on commercial imports and a long-running fuel crisis have caused a drop in agricultural production, a scarcity of supplies and exorbitant food prices. Airstrikes have also hit main supply routes, warehouses holding food aid and vehicles carrying humanitarian supplies, exacerbating the food crisis.

With the conflict continuing into a second year, international banks are more and more reluctant to provide credit to importers, meaning traders may have to halt shipments. At the same time the Central Bank of Yemen is struggling to stabilise prices in the food market. For a country that imports 90 percent of its food, this could result in price hikes hitting a quarter of the population, already on the edge of starvation.

An Oxfam food survey of 250 people in north-west Yemen in February found that almost two thirds of families rely on credit to buy food. But as so few people are able to pay back their debt, lenders are increasingly unwilling to provide loans to poor families. All the evidence shows that the poorest people do not have the ability to withstand this crisis for much longer - all those Oxfam surveyed said they spend more per month than they are able to earn.