SANAA, Nov. 24 (Saba) -As the world marks International Children's Day, children in Yemen do not have much to celebrate.
The nearly five-year-long war has created what the United Nations calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
It says at least 12 million children are caught up in the fighting and need outside help.
Rights activist Hamid Rafiq said that the Yemeni children have gone through over the past five years, the world community should take serious action and end the illegal war imposed on Yemen.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that two million children are out of school in Yemen, which has been the subject of a destructive Saudi-led military campaign for nearly five years.
It also warned that the education of a further 3.7 million children is at risk as teachers have not received their salaries for over two years, adding that one fifth of schools in Yemen can no longer be used as a direct result of the conflict.
On World Children's day, young Yemeni students are trying to make their voices heard by gathering outside the UN office in the capital. They want an end to the years-long Saudi war and blockade on their country.
Officials at the Yemeni Ministry of Health confirmed high indicators of malnutrition among children in various regions as a result of deteriorating living conditions, cuts in salaries and the continuation of the Saudi blockade, which leads to serious long-term health complications for these children, such as immunodeficiency, weak organ functions, low level of intelligence and others.
"For malnutrition in Yemen, the risk stage has exceeded the World Health Organization classification, for malnutrition, 16 percent of children under five are severely malnourished," said Dr Hamoud al-Muntasser, deputy director of the Yemeni Ministry of Health, this is the highest rate in the region for stunting 74%.
"The current situation has led to the hunger and chronic poverty of the Yemeni people, which has led to the deterioration of the health of children and the health of the family. It has led to severe and moderate malnutrition," said Shahrazad Ba'alawy, deputy director general of Al-Sabaeen Hospitals.
Statistics show that more than two million Yemeni children are malnourished, while one child dies every 10 minutes for avoidable causes, including severe and moderate malnutrition. UNICEF confirms that 92% of Yemeni children are malnourished nationwide and all suffer from malnutrition. weight loss.
These cases remain witness and evidence of the poor living conditions suffered by the children of Yemen as a result of the US-Saudi aggression and siege that has been going on for 5 years.
The secretary-general's on children in Yemen's conflict also noted that attacks on schools and hospitals remained high, with 345 of the 381 that were verified causing the partial or total destruction of the building.
Of "great concern," is the verified military use of 258 schools, which is higher than the 244 schools that were attacked. The result is that thousands of boys and girls were prevented "safe access to education," it said.
Writing by Mona Zaid
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