(Foreground) a woman spoon-feeds her child at the UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centre at the Yemeni Swedish Hospital in the south-western city of Taiz. Behind them, other women also feed their malnourished children. All the women wear niqabs.
In 2007 in Yemen, over 80 per cent of the population lives in remote rural areas, where access to water, health care, education and other basic services is limited. These hardships are exacerbated by discrimination against girls and women, high fertility, large family size and a limited food supply. One in 10 children dies before his or her fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes, including diarrhoea, respiratory infection, malaria and malnutrition. Widespread malnutrition is the principal cause of 50 per cent of child deaths. About half of all children are underweight, and half are stunted, contributing not only to physical illness but to potential cognitive delays. In addition, a vast amount of land and water is devoted to growing khat, a mild narcotic, which has no nutritional value and competes with food for the family income. Almost half of Yemeni girls receive no primary education, and two-thirds of women are illiterate, while more than 10 per cent of the nation's workforce are children. Boys often migrate to cities in search of work or to escape domestic abuse. UNICEF is working with the Government to formulate national strategies on child protection issues, including: birth registration; girls' education; the elimination of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); and the prevention of child trafficking, including psycho-social support and family tracing services for affected children. UNICEF also supports community-based therapeutic feeding, literacy programmes for women and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention training.
Diphtheria Infected over 1,300 People in Yemen Amid Saudi Aggression
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The World Health Organization says a diphtheria outbreak in Yemen has spread rapidly nationwide and infected more than 1,300 people amid an ongoing Saudi-led aggression on the war-torn country.
WHO said in a statement that children and young adults account for almost 80 percent of cases and more than 70 people have died.
Diphtheria, first reported in Yemen in October last year, is a contagious and potentially fatal disease that primarily infects the throat and airways.
WHO said Friday a vaccination campaign targeting 2.7 million Yemeni children has been completed in 11 governorates.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Nearly 14,000 Yemenis, mostly women, children and the elderly, have been killed since the onset of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against the impoverished state. Much of the Arabian Peninsula country’s infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due to the war. The Saudi-led war has also triggered a worsening humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions across Yemen.
