Over 10 Million Children at Risk of Famine in 2021: UNICEF
SANA’A (Dispatches) – Almost 10.4 million children will suffer from acute malnutrition and famine in the coming year amid prolonged conflicts, internal displacement and the coronavirus pandemic, a UN report says.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released that many children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeast Nigeria, the Central Sahel, South Sudan and Yemen are on the brink of starvation.
The consequences of conflict and other humanitarian crises have been intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, sending already dire conditions into a tailspin likely to result in widespread famine, the group said.
"The impacts of this pandemic will be felt for years to come, but it’s already clear that Covid-19 has exacerbated poverty and inequality in conflict-affected countries, adding massive pressure to already overwhelmed social and health systems,” the report said.
An increase in families without homes has also been documented, in addition to those who cannot afford the basic needs of food and water.
Yemen in particular remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis due to the Saudi-led aggression on the impoverished Arab nation.
As a result, at least 12.4 million Yemeni children are in need of humanitarian assistance, with about 358,000 suffering from severe malnourishment, the report said.
UNICEF noted that, as in other conflict zones, the outbreak of Covid-19 has acutely compounded the suffering in Yemen. But the greater need for aid in 2020 was largely met with shortfalls, even when compared to previous years when there was not a global pandemic.
About 80 percent of Yemen’s total population relies on humanitarian aid to survive, but fundraising efforts have barely met half the required donations leading aid groups, including UNICEF, have benchmarked.
The vast majority - 70 percent - of the $576.9m funding requirements UNICEF estimated for next year in Yemen are earmarked to go towards the basic needs of water, sanitation and hygiene, and health and nutrition, the group said in its 2021 appeal for the country.
"Earning opportunities have dried up, health services have been stretched to the limits and travel restrictions have compromised access to markets” in Yemen, the report highlighted.
"Millions of parents are being left to make the gut-wrenching choice between food and medical care for their children.”
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.
Last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the death toll from the Saudi war on Yemen at 233,000.
The popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending Yemen against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling the objectives of the atrocious war.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released that many children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeast Nigeria, the Central Sahel, South Sudan and Yemen are on the brink of starvation.
The consequences of conflict and other humanitarian crises have been intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, sending already dire conditions into a tailspin likely to result in widespread famine, the group said.
"The impacts of this pandemic will be felt for years to come, but it’s already clear that Covid-19 has exacerbated poverty and inequality in conflict-affected countries, adding massive pressure to already overwhelmed social and health systems,” the report said.
An increase in families without homes has also been documented, in addition to those who cannot afford the basic needs of food and water.
Yemen in particular remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis due to the Saudi-led aggression on the impoverished Arab nation.
As a result, at least 12.4 million Yemeni children are in need of humanitarian assistance, with about 358,000 suffering from severe malnourishment, the report said.
UNICEF noted that, as in other conflict zones, the outbreak of Covid-19 has acutely compounded the suffering in Yemen. But the greater need for aid in 2020 was largely met with shortfalls, even when compared to previous years when there was not a global pandemic.
About 80 percent of Yemen’s total population relies on humanitarian aid to survive, but fundraising efforts have barely met half the required donations leading aid groups, including UNICEF, have benchmarked.
The vast majority - 70 percent - of the $576.9m funding requirements UNICEF estimated for next year in Yemen are earmarked to go towards the basic needs of water, sanitation and hygiene, and health and nutrition, the group said in its 2021 appeal for the country.
"Earning opportunities have dried up, health services have been stretched to the limits and travel restrictions have compromised access to markets” in Yemen, the report highlighted.
"Millions of parents are being left to make the gut-wrenching choice between food and medical care for their children.”
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.
Last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the death toll from the Saudi war on Yemen at 233,000.
The popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending Yemen against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling the objectives of the atrocious war.