UN warns of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen's government-held areas

NEWS WIRES

19 August 2024 at 3:45 am·1-min read

Child malnutrition is soaring in Yemen's government-controlled areas, UNICEF said on Sunday, citing the latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative. The UN children's agency said the increased rates were "driven by the compounded effect of disease outbreaks (cholera and measles), high food insecurity, limited access to safe drinking water, and economic decline".

A United Nations task force on Sunday warned of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen's government-controlled areas, reporting "extremely critical" levels of malnutrition in parts of the country's south for the first time.

"The number of children under the age of five suffering acute malnutrition, or wasting, rose by 34 per cent compared to the previous year ... affecting over 600,000 children, including 120,000 children who are severely malnourished," UNICEF said of the latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative, of which it is a part.

The turmoil has plunged the country, already the poorest in the Arabian Peninsula before the war, into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

(AFP)

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