Local Editor
Photos from Yemen show that malnourished children are some of the victims of an overlooked conflict: Yemen’s 18-month-long war.
President Abed Rabboh Mansour Hadi, supported by an alliance of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, is fighting against the Ansarullah revolutionaries and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The conflict intensified after UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait last month ended without an agreement.
The war has led to a lack of food and jobs and is deeply affecting the country’s economy, health system and the health of children.
"The health care system is about to collapse. Sometimes the children cannot get to the health center. Lack of clean water can give children diarrhea," Meritxell Relano, UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, told ABC News.
"Poverty has increased because of the war. There’s a lack of food and a lack of jobs and income for the parents. People who are internally displaced are vulnerable to the loss of income. Many factories’ economic production has been destroyed," Relano said.
Out of the 1.5 million children who are suffering from malnutrition, according to UNICEF, 370,000 suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition that requires urgent treatment.
Relano said that many malnourished children probably live on bread and maybe tomato sauce. As part of their treatment at health centers, the children are fed "Plumpy’Nut," a peanut-based food that is high on nutrition and resembles peanut butter.
More than 1,100 children have been killed in the war in Yemen, while nearly 1,700 have been injured, according to UNICEF.
Source: ABC news, Edited by Website Team
