United Nations sets up Yemen famine aid

SANAA, Yemen, May 21 (UPI) -- A U.N. official says a $450 million emergency humanitarian aid plan has been set up for Yemen because of famine faced by nearly half the people in the country.

Ismail Wald Sheik Ahmed, resident representative of the United Nations, said at a meeting Sunday with Prime Minister Mohamed Salem Basendwa the fund was established to help an estimated 10 million Yemen residents facing hunger, al-Masdar Online reported.

Yemen's population is about 25 million.

U.N. officials earlier this month estimated 967,000 Yemeni children under age 5 are suffering from severe malnutrition, with 267,000 at risk of dying.