UNICEF: Millions of Children at High Risk as Yemen Inches Towards Famine

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that the lives of millions of children are in “great danger” as Yemen approaches more than the brink of famine. “As Yemen slowly inches towards what the UN Secretary-General has described as potentially ‘the worst famine in decades,’ the risk to children’s lives is higher than ever.”The warning signs have been clear for far too long. More than 12 million children need humanitarian assistance.

“Yemen is a country beset by violence, pain and suffering. The economy is in shambles. The health system has been on the verge of collapse for years. Countless schools, hospitals, water stations and other crucial public infrastructure have been damaged and destroyed in the fighting. Disregard for international humanitarian law is shockingly blatant,” the organization explained in a statement.

The UNICEF highlights the situation and needed steps to help avoid the disaster. “Chronic poverty, decades of underdevelopment, and over five years of unrelenting conflict have exposed children and their families to a deadly combination of violence and disease. Humanitarian aid alone will not avert a famine nor end the crisis in Yemen. Stopping the war, supporting the economy and increasing resources are critical,” stressing that “there is no time to waste.

Children in Yemen need peace. An end to this brutal conflict is the only way they can fulfil their potential, resume their childhood and, ultimately, rebuild their country.”

Acute child malnutrition rates have reached record levels in some parts of the country, marking a 10 per cent increase just this year. Nearly 325,000 children under the age of five suffer from severe acute malnutrition and are fighting to survive. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned a deep crisis into an imminent catastrophe.

Source: UNICEF