Over 7 million Yemeni children face 'serious' famine threat: UN

More than 10,000 people have been killed since 2015 and some 22 million are in need of food aid


Afp November 01, 2018
PHOTO: AFP

HODEIDA, YEMEN: Over seven million children face a serious threat of famine in Yemen and ending the country's war will not save all of them, the UN children's agency said.

"Today, 1.8 million children under the age of five are facing acute malnutrition, and 400,000 are affected by severe acute malnutrition," said Geert Cappelaere, regional director of UNICEF.

"More than half" of the 14 million people at serious risk of famine in the impoverished country are children, Cappelaere told AFP late on Wednesday.

"Ending the war is not enough," he said, referring to a more than the three-year conflict that pits the government supported by a Saudi-led military coalition against Huthi rebels.

"What we need is to stop the war and (to create) a government mechanism that puts at the centre the people and children.

5.2 million children at famine risk in Yemen

"The war is exacerbating the situation that was already bad before because of years of underdevelopment" in the Arab world's poorest nation, Cappelaere said.

He welcomed a call by the UN on Wednesday to relaunch peace talks within a month.

He said efforts to come up with a solution in the next 30 days were "critical" to improving aid distribution and saving lives.

Cappelaere said that over 6,000 children have either been killed or sustained serious injuries since 2015.

26 children killed by coalition strikes in Yemen: UN

"These are the numbers we have been able to verify, but we can safely assume that the number is higher, much higher," he said.

Saudi Arabia and its allies entered the war to bolster Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi after the Iran-backed rebels took over the capital Sanaa.

Since 2015, more than 10,000 people have been killed and some 22 million — three-quarters of the population — are in need of food aid, according to the UN.

COMMENTS (2)

Blue Whale | 5 years ago | Reply there are over 50 muslim countries in this world . Cant they all get together and do somehting for htier own brethren ?
cuban | 5 years ago | Reply Pakistan should donate food - why should we sit on the sideline when we can/should help?
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ