Millions of children face risk of malnutrition in Yemen

According to the UN’s International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), millions of children in Yemen face a severe risk of malnutrition in the case that necessary funds to resolve the issue are not allocated soon. 

Given the current situation of the ongoing blockade and military aggression led by the Saudi coalition, one Yemeni child dies every 10 minutes, according to the humanitarian group.

On 24 March, the UN agency released a statement noting that 11 million Yemeni children are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including necessary nutrients and medicine. The agency adds that over 540,000 children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition and urges that Yemen needs $484 million in 2023 to overcome such matters.

“If the funds do not arrive, UNICEF could be forced to reduce its vital assistance to vulnerable children,” the group insisted.

Yemen has been devastated by war following the Saudi-led coalition’s invasion of the country that started in 2014 in response to the Yemeni Resistance movement’s Ansarallah ousting of Sanaa’s previous government, led by former President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis were killed since the beginning of the war, with tensions slightly dialed down in 2022 due to a few temporary ceasefires.

The UN described the situation in Yemen as the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century, as 80 percent of the population lacks access to clean water, sufficient food, and adequate health services.

By late 2022, UNICEF reported that over 17.8 million people, including 9.2 million children, lacked access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services. The country continues to experience frequent outbreaks of cholera, measles, diphtheria, and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

On 22 March, Ansarallah disclosed that over 49,000 civilians have been killed and injured through direct violence since the launch of the Saudi-led coalition operations in 2015 while also accusing the coalition of using prohibited weapons, Al-Masirah TV reported. 

During a press conference in Sanaa, the Ministry of Human Rights in the Ansarallah-led National Salvation government said that “The total number of dead and wounded over eight years has exceeded 49,000, including more than 8,700 children and more than 5,400 women.” _Agencies