The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says more than 11 million Yemeni children in Yemen are in acute need of aid, stressing that it is estimated that every 10 minutes a child dies of a preventable disease.
Regional UNICEF director Geert Cappelaere said the UN child agency had lately flown 1.9 million doses of vaccines to Yemen, describing Saturday's shipment as a “very small step” amid immense need for medicine.
“We hope all will live up to their promises. These supplies are urgently needed,” he told reporters in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
Cappelaere further noted that an outbreak of diphtheria, which has already spread to five provinces, has sounded new alarms about the disastrous health condition in Yemen.
“The war in Yemen is sadly a war on children. Yemen is facing the worst humanitarian crisis I have ever seen in my life,” the senior UNICEF official pointed out.
According to the World Health Organization’s latest count, the cholera outbreak has killed 2,167 people since the end of April and is suspected to have infected 841,906.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has described the current level of hunger in Yemen as “unprecedented,” emphasizing that 17 million people are now food insecure in the country.
It added that 6.8 million, meaning almost one in four people, do not have enough food and rely entirely on external assistance.
A recent survey showed that almost one third of families have gaps in their diets, and hardly ever consume foods like pulses, vegetables, fruit, dairy products or meat.
More than 3 million pregnant and nursing women and children under 5 need support to prevent or cure malnutrition.