GENEVA — The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, reported Friday that acute malnutrition among children in Yemen is rising as ongoing fighting hinders access to healthcare and treatment centers.
More than a quarter of nearly 2,900 children screened by UNICEF mobile nutrition teams were acutely malnourished, with 200 cases classified as severe.
"We're very concerned about a visible increase in acute malnutrition among children," said Akhil Iyer, UNICEF's country representative in Yemen, speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Aden.
The screenings represent only a snapshot of the broader crisis. UNICEF projects 2.2 million children under five will suffer from acute malnutrition in Yemen this year, with over half a million experiencing severe acute malnutrition.
The rise in malnutrition coincides with a sharp escalation of Yemen's civil war between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthis. The conflict had largely paused following a 2022 truce but violence has reignited along old front lines in recent weeks, including intensified fighting around the southwestern city of Taiz.
Houthi forces have swept south along the Red Sea coast. Over 133,000 people have been displaced by the recent violence. Approximately 71,000 children have been forced from their homes in the past three weeks, with some displaced individuals fleeing across the Red Sea to Africa.
UNICEF reports increasing cases of child malnutrition daily in areas it can access, particularly locations where internally displaced people have recently arrived.
