WUNRN
http://www.irinnews.org/report/101311/yemenis-rush-to-buy-food-and-fuel-as-conflict-escalates
YEMENIS RUSH TO BUY FOOD AND FUEL AS CONFLICT ESCALATES
http://www.unicef.org/appeals/yemen.html
Children in Yemen face a consistently poor
humanitarian situation exacerbated by political instability, expanding
localized conflicts, and decades of chronic underdevelopment and socio-economic
crisis. Over 61 per cent of the population is estimated to be in need of some
kind of humanitarian assistance. The level of malnutrition among children and
women nationally remains alarming, with 1.6 million people affected, of whom an
estimated 847,445 children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, including
160,629 with severe acute malnutrition.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=50414#.VRGy3nktHmI
YEMEN – GRAVE CHILD RIGHTS ABUSES – YEMENI GIRLS – EDUCATION – HEALTH – MALNUTRITION – VIOLENCE: UNICEF
“An estimated 200,000 children have been affected by attacks or closure of schools. Girls are most affected, as parents decide to keep their children at home due to insecurity and poverty.”
Children at the Radfan Basic School in Al-Shaikh Othman
district, Aden, Yemen. Photo: UNICEF Yemen
24 March 2015 – Grave violations of children’s rights are
continuing to take place in Yemen, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed today, on the heels of a
spate of recent attacks on mosques in Sana’a that killed 12 children and
injured 20.
UNICEF spokesperson Christophe Boulierac told a news conference
in Geneva that 2014 saw a 40 per cent increase in the number of children killed
and wounded in Yemen, compared to 2013. There has also been a 100 per cent
increase in attacks on schools and hospitals, while recruitment of children
into armed groups has increased by 47 per cent.
During an emergency meeting of the Security Council held
on Sunday, UN Special Adviser Jamal Benomar warned that Yemen stands on the
brink of civil war amid deepening political tensions. Despite UN efforts to
bring about a peaceful political resolution, Yemen has continued to be plagued
by violence and mass political demonstrations.
According to UNICEF, Yemen remains one of the poorest
countries in the world, with 47 per cent of children under the age of five
suffering from malnutrition. It
has, after Afghanistan, the highest number of malnourished children. Levels
of malnutrition are alarmingly high at the moment, with 1.6 million persons
affected, out of which 850,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition
and 160,000 from severe acute malnutrition.
Mr. Boulierac said that Yemeni children are exposed to a
number of dangers, including mines, drones, suicide attacks and sexual
violence. UNICEF is appealing to all parties in the conflict to spare schools,
hospitals and civilian targets. It is also asking for an immediate halt to the
recruitment of children and immediate assistance to those in need.
The current crisis in Yemen has also had a disastrous
effect on the economy. Social welfare funds are frozen, with no payments made
since the beginning of the year, affecting large swathes of the population.
Beneficiaries of the Social Welfare Fund, which covers 35 per cent of the
population, have not received their payments since January this year.
UNICEF and its partners on the ground continue to provide
vaccines to children, construct child friendly schools, provide psychosomatic
support to children in distress, and provide therapeutic food to mothers and
children who are malnourished.
Mr. Boulierac also said that the provision of vaccines
has been secured for the following two months only, and that the Government is
not in a position to pay for subsequent months, putting many children who have
not been vaccinated at risk. Vaccine stocks and storage are at risk of being
damaged, as well. This month UNICEF paid the fuel to avoid a disruption, as the
Government was unable to.
An estimated 200,000 children have been affected by
attacks or closure of schools. Girls are most affected, as parents decide to
keep their children at home due to insecurity and poverty.