5th October, 2015
At least 505 children have been killed and 702 injured, and more than 1.7 million children are facing malnutrition thanks to the ongoing war in Yemen, according to UNICEF.
The organisation said that nearly 10 million children – some 80 per cent of the population of the country which is aged under 18 – need "urgent humanitarian assistance" with the number of children aged under five at risk of severe malnutrition tripling this year to 537,00 while 1.2 million children – twice as many as last year – are now projected to suffer from "moderate acute malnutrition".
UNICEF says the main causes for the increase in the number facing malnutrition include food shortages and poor access to markets due to the conflict as well as reduced access to health facilities, sanitation and the disruption of livelihoods. It notes that while, even before conflict broke out, Yemen produced less than 10 per cent of its food needs, the escalation of the conflict into all out war in March this year has caused food insecurity to spike.
More than 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the violence and UNICEF says it has verified attacks on or damage to 41 schools and 61 hospitals since March.
Julien Harneis, UNICEF representative in Yemen, says that with every passing day "children see their hopes and dreams for the future shattered". "Their homes, schools, and communities are being destroyed, and their own lives are increasingly threatened by disease and malnutrition."
Meanwhile, another report – State of the Crisis: Explosive Weapons in Yemen – has found that Yemen is the worst country for civilians deaths and injuries from explosive weapon use in the first seven months of this year.
– DAVID ADAMS
