Cairo, 22 December 2021 (dpa/MIA) – Starting in January, 8 million people in war-devastated Yemen will get reduced food rations - despite growing hunger in the impoverished country - due to a shortfall in funds, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday. However, 5 million at immediate risk of slipping into famine conditions in Yemen will remain on a full rations, the aid agency added. "Every time we reduce the amount of food, we know that more people who are already hungry and food insecure will join the ranks of the millions who are starving,” said Corinne Fleischer, WFP regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “But desperate times call for desperate measures and we have to stretch our limited resources and prioritize, focusing on people who are in the most critical state," she added in a statement. “The Yemeni people are now more vulnerable than ever, reeling from relentless conflict and the deepening economic crisis that has pushed millions into destitution," Fleischer said. Around 16 million people face acute hunger there, according to the WFP. Yemen has been roiled by a devastating power struggle since late 2014 that has pitched the Saudi-backed Yemeni government against Iran-linked rebels. The conflict has pushed Yemen, already one of the Arab world's poorest countries, to the verge of famine and devastated the country's health facilities. The United Nations has described Yemen as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.