UN: 11 Million Yemeni Children Need Immediate Humanitarian Assistance

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, announced that more than 11 million children in the war-torn country of Yemen need immediate humanitarian assistance.

According to Agence France-Presse, Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa director, said on Sunday, December 5 in Amman, the capital of Jordan: “Today we can say that Yemen is one of the worst places on earth for a child.”

He emphasized: “Today in Yemen, two million children are suffering from severe malnutrition and almost all Yemeni boys and girls need immediate humanitarian assistance.”

UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa director stated: “Our estimate is that every 10 minutes, one child in Yemen dies from preventable diseases.”

United Nations officials have warned that unless the total blockade of Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition is lifted, Yemen will likely face the world’s worst famine in recent decades.

The total blockade of Yemen occurred after the Houthis fired a missile at Riyadh airport. Hodeidah port, which is controlled by Iran-backed Houthis, is one of the blocked ports that had been the main channel for UN humanitarian aid to Yemen.

Meanwhile, a UN passenger aircraft carrying vaccines was allowed by the Saudi-led coalition on Saturday to fly from Amman to Sana’a; Sana’a is Yemen’s capital, controlled by Houthi Shiites.

On Sunday, with increased international pressure on the Saudi coalition, the first aid ship, carrying 5,500 tons of flour, docked at Saleef port.

United Nations officials insist that Hodeidah port be opened to aid ships.

Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa director, said at his press conference: “Unfortunately, the war in Yemen is a war against children.”

He added that since the start of the coalition’s air strikes in 2015, nearly 5,000 children in Yemen have been killed or severely wounded.

UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa director stated: “Thousands of schools and health centers have been damaged or completely destroyed.” He called on all warring parties to show responsibility in light of the current situation.

So far, nearly 8,600 people have been killed in the Yemen war. Another 2,000 have lost their lives due to cholera.

According to UNICEF, approximately 20,000 Yemeni children under five are added each month to the number of children suffering from severe malnutrition.

Source: Radio Farda