With the health crisis, the horizon is darkening more in Yemen. Millions of children across the country at risk “On the verge of starvation because of the huge lack of funding for humanitarian aid” in the country at war, where the Covid-19 epidemic is spreading, reported on Friday June 26, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a report.
Triggered more than five years ago, the conflict pits the government, supported by Saudi Arabia, against the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran. For the UN, the humanitarian crisis in this poor country on the Arabian Peninsula is the worst in the world.
The number of malnourished children could reach 2.4 million by the end of the year, an increase of 20%. At the same time, the mortality rate among children under 5 years of age for “Avoidable causes” could also increase.
Without emergency response, “The international community will send a message that the lives of children in a nation devastated by conflict, disease and economic collapse simply do not matter”, regretted Sara Beysolow Nyanti, representative of Unicef in Yemen.
Lack of funds to finance humanitarian aid
The organization has requested aid of $ 461 million (nearly € 411 million) for its humanitarian action in Yemen and an additional $ 53 million (over € 47 million) to combat the Covid-19 in this country.
Despite the urgency, only 39% of the first amount and 10% of the second have been collected to date according to UNICEF, which is sounding the alarm about the reduction of its programs in the field.
In addition, 3 million children and their families may no longer have access to water in this country, the infrastructure and health system already devastated by the conflict, according to UNICEF.
Earlier in June, the UN was able to raise only $ 1.35 billion (€ 1.2 billion) in humanitarian aid for Yemen at a virtual donors conference, far from 2.41 billion dollars (2.15 billion euros) expected.
–
