UNICEF publishes alarming figures on children harmed amid Yemen military conflict

Ever since the outbreak of the military conflict in Yemen between the internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition and the local Houthi rebels supported by Iran in 2015, a total of 11,000 children have been either killed or injured.

This devastating statistic was published by UNICEF on December 2015 following the visit of Catherine Russel, the agency’s Executive Director, to the country on the Arabian Peninsula.

A report published on the UN structure’s website records that this figure means that an average of four children a day get harmed, noting that these are only the UN-verified incidents, with the true toll of this conflict likely to be far higher.

“While the UN-brokered truce led to a significant reduction in the intensity of the conflict, a further 62 children have been killed or injured between the end of the truce at the start of October and the end of November. At least 74 children were among the 164 people killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance between July and September 2022 alone.

Almost eight years since the escalation of the conflict, more than 23.4 million people, including 12.9 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection – almost three-quarters of the entire population. An estimated 2.2 million children in Yemen are acutely malnourished, including nearly 540,000 children under the age of five suffering from severe acute malnutrition and are struggling to survive”, the report says.

“For children like 7-month-old Yasin and his mother Saba, who I visited at a hospital in Aden, life has become a struggle for survival”, said UNICEF Director Russell, who launched UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children Appeal from Yemen last week. “Thousands of children have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands more remain at risk of death from preventable disease or starvation. Yasin is just one of too many severely malnourished children in Yemen. They all need immediate support as basic services have all but collapsed”.

According to UNICEF, more than 17.8 million people, including 9.2 million children, lack access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Yemen’s health system has been extremely fragile: only 50% of health facilities are functional, leaving almost 22 million people – including around 10 million children - without adequate access to healthcare.

It also notes on the immunization levels from various infections and diseases, stating that Immunization coverage has stagnated nationally, with 28% of children under 1 year of age missing routine vaccinations. “Coupled with the lack of access to safe water, this puts children at extreme risk amid regular outbreaks of cholera, measles, diphtheria and other vaccine-preventable diseases”.

“If the children of Yemen are to have any chance of a decent future, then the parties to the conflict, the international community and all those with influence must ensure they are protected and supported”, said Russell. “That includes children like Mansour, who I met at a UNICEF-supported rehabilitation and prosthetics centre. His leg was amputated at the knee after he was shot by a sniper. No child should suffer that. The urgent renewal of the truce would be a positive first step that would allow critical humanitarian access. Ultimately, only a sustained peace will allow families to rebuild their shattered lives and begin to plan for the future”.

UNICEF announced that it urgently requires $484.4 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen in 2023.

“The lack of predictable funding for urgent interventions challenges the continuity of key services, putting children’s lives and well-being at risk”, the agency warned.