Yemen

Civil conflict, cash transfers, and child nutrition in Yemen

School feeding for improving child nutrition in conflict-affected settings: Feasibility and cost efficiency of alternative models in Yemen

School feeding programs can support children’s nutrition, health, and education in emergencies. This study assessed the feasibility, trade-offs, cost efficiency, and perceived benefits of school feeding modalities operating in urban Yemen. It draws on primary data from a qualitative evaluation with 21 school feeding implementers and 88 beneficiaries conducted in Feb–Mar 2023, and secondary data from a desk review of published and program literature on school feeding operations. Results showed that school feeding provided students with on average 18%, 40%, and 66% of daily energy, protein, and micronutrient requirements, respectively. Models including fortified snacks were 3–11 times more cost-efficient in terms of nutrient delivery. The most prominent strength of the models examined were the perceived benefits on child, family, and financial outcomes. Among the main weaknesses was the poor nutritional quality of the meal, which in turn emerged as a primary opportunity to improve school feeding through hybrid models providing a combination of fortified snacks and healthy meals. Other weaknesses such as poor water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, and desired improvements such as the school kitchen and canteen, require considerable investments. Hybrid models are cost-efficient, acceptable, and feasible in Yemen and can serve the diet and nutrition needs of school-aged children.

Unlocking the power of partnership to address Yemen’s food crisis and strengthen food system resilience

Key Messages • Yemen is experiencing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises resulting from prolonged conflict, with about half the population suffering from food insecurity. • Food availability and affordability in Yemen is extremely vulnerable to external shocks because of the fragility of the national food system and its heavy dependence on food imports by the private sector and international humanitarian agencies. • A recent workshop jointly organized by IFPRI and HSA Group reviewed the state of collaboration between key actors in Yemen’s food system and discussed avenues to building strong cross-sector partnerships for ending the current food crisis and strengthening food system resilience. • Limited collaboration among the public, private, and third sectors (for example, in the form of collective action, multistakeholder partnerships) contributes to inefficiencies in food supply chains and food aid delivery. • Currently, collaborations are often ad hoc, limited to peer-to-peer partnerships, and constrained by a siloed mentality. • With a potential peace agreement, new opportunities for cross sector collaboration and strategic partnerships between food system actors are emerging. • Enhanced communication among the public, private, and third sectors is an important first step toward improving mutual understanding, building trust, exchanging critical information and ideas, and realizing opportunities for effective collective action.