More than three million children have been born in Yemen since the escalation of violence in the nation in March, 2015, according to a UNICEF report.
The report – Born into War – also reveals that more than 5,000 children have been killed or injured in the violence – an average rate of five a day, that more than 11 million children in the country now need humanitarian assistance, and that more than half the country’s children don’t have access to safe drinking water or adequate sanitation.
Other findings show almost two million children remain out of school, including almost half a million who have dropped out since the escalation in violence while an estimated 1.8 million children are acutely malnourished.
Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Representative in Yemen – the poorest country in the Middle East even before the most recent conflict developed, said an “entire generation of children in Yemen is growing up knowing nothing but violence”.
“Children in Yemen are suffering the devastating consequences of a war that is not of their making. Malnutrition and disease are rampant as basic services collapse. Those who survive are likely to carry the physical and psychological scars of conflict for the rest of their lives.”
UNICEF is calling for, among other things, all parties to the conflict to put an end to the violence, to abide by their international obligations to protect children and to provide access for assistance to be delivered to every child in need in Yemen.
