In a press conference held in Sana'a Tuesday October 9th , Minister of International development Alan Duncan said that the UK has granted £ 35 million for malnutrition programs in Yemen which will treat and prevent under-nutrition over the next three years.

The world must take long-term action to tackle malnutrition in Yemen before it becomes a “death sentence for tens of thousands”, International Development Minister Alan Duncan warned today, as he announced a new UK package of long-term support to help improve nutrition for 1.65 million women and children across Yemen.

Over ten million people in Yemen are currently thought to be at risk because of insufficient food and in the worst affected parts of the country as many as one in three children are suffering from life-threatening acute malnutrition.

The UK has committed to provide critical support over three years, allowing UNICEF to work with the Government of Yemen to plan long term solutions to the current crisis that will address the root causes of malnutrition rather than simply tackling the symptoms. The UK is the first donor country to take this approach - funding is normally provided for six months or a maximum of a year, making it difficult for aid agencies in Yemen to commit to long term initiatives such as training health workers or improving health systems in case funding runs out half way through a project.

Mr Duncan, who announced the new funding during a visit to Sana’a, has driven efforts over the last four months to secure international commitments to support to support Yemen’s development and to address humanitarian needs. This process culminated in the Friends of Yemen meeting in New York last month, which saw total funding pledges exceed $7.8 billion.