A copy of the letter was seen by The New York Times. Lowcock said the Yemeni currency has basically collapsed, while food costs have surged and drinking water prices have more than doubled since April. In 16 districts of the country, nearly all in Houthi-controlled areas, he said, the hunger emergency is now at Phase 4 — one step from famine. In South Sudan, which has been upended by seven years of civil war, a recent upsurge in violence has left more than 1.4 million people “facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity,” Lowcock said. Two years after the threat of famine was narrowly averted in South Sudan, he said, “parts of the country are again deteriorating sharply.”©2020 The New York Times Company

Source: bd News24 September 05, 2020 19:30 UTC