UNICEF: Over 2.2 Million Children in Yemen Threatened by Malnutrition

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that more than 2.2 million children under the age of five in Yemen are at risk of malnutrition and hunger this year, including over half a million children facing acute and severe malnutrition amid escalating conflict.

Achille Ayer, UNICEF’s Representative in Yemen, speaking via video link from Aden during a press conference in Geneva, said that more than one in four children suffers from acute malnutrition, while approximately 200 children are affected by severe acute malnutrition, according to findings from UNICEF teams’ recent assessments of around 2,900 children in areas with safe humanitarian access.

He clarified that these figures represent only a sample of the dire situation across other parts of Yemen, following years of conflict, a protracted food crisis, and the country’s ongoing economic deterioration.

The humanitarian crisis also encompasses other critical sectors such as education, health, and displacement. In the past three weeks, around 130,000 people, including 71,000 children, have been forced to flee due to fighting, and 243 schools have been closed, leaving approximately 140,000 children out of school. UNICEF has also verified the killing of 15 children and the injury of 14 others since the beginning of the current month, as well as the disappearance of three others, with additional incidents still under investigation.

In this context, the Representative reiterated UNICEF’s call to protect children, civilians, and civilian infrastructure, to comply with international humanitarian law, and to facilitate safe and unrestricted humanitarian access.