More than two million Yemeni children under the age of five are expected to endure acute malnutrition in 2021, four United Nations agencies said on Friday, urging stakeholders to end the years-long conflict that has brought the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.
The UN report warned that nearly one in six of those kids — 400,000 of the 2.3m — are at risk of death due to severe acute malnutrition this year, a significant increase from last year’s estimates. The report also said a lack of funds was hampering humanitarian programmes in Yemen, as donor nations have failed to make good on their commitments.
Since the conflict escalated in March 2015, the country has become a living hell for the country’s children. Now, with COVID-19 spreading, Yemen is facing an emergency within an emergency. Sanitation and clean water are in short supply. Only half of health facilities are functioning, and many that remain operational lack basic equipment like masks and gloves, let alone oxygen and other essential supplies to treat the coronavirus.
Many health workers are receiving no salaries or incentives.Children continue to be killed and maimed in the conflict, while the damage and closure of schools and hospitals has disrupted access to education and health services, leaving children even more vulnerable and robbing them of their futures.
Meanwhile, nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, according to an analysis in February. Of these, 400,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could die if they do not receive urgent treatment.
The crisis in Yemen is a toxic mix of conflict, economic collapse and a severe shortage of funding. Lack of funds, in particular, is hampering humanitarian programmes in the country, as donor nations have failed to make good on their commitments. In 2020, humanitarian programmes in Yemen received only $1.9 billion of the required $3.4 billion, says the UN report. According to Unicef estimates, virtually all of Yemen’s 12 million children require some sort of assistance. This can include food aid, health services, clean water, schooling and cash grants to help the poorest families scrape by. Considering the dire situation, international donors must step forward and put their money where the mouth is.
The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other nations that work with the Saud Arabia and United Arab Emirates-led coalition must broker an agreement to use fuel revenues for paying public servants, and mobilise an economic rescue package. This would bring food prices under control and enable Yemen to import enough to feed itself.
Second, restore aid so organisations like mine can assist people who need it. Gulf countries embroiled in this war have stumped up just a fraction of last year’s funds while starvation is spreading. Meanwhile United States assistance to northern areas controlled by Ansar Allah (otherwise known as the Houthis), home to 80 percent of the country’s population of around 30 million, remains suspended.
These severe cuts mean that over eight million people being supported by aid organisations have seen their food rations halved. Fathers tell us they are going hungry so their children can eat. In 2018, a scale-up in aid helped stave off famine. We need the same generous response again at this critical tipping point.
Third, end impunity. Late last year, a group of experts on Yemen released a damning report documenting an utter disregard for the laws of war by all sides of the conflict. Using starvation against civilians is a war crime. Violations should be independently investigated. UN member states should demand consequences for the farmers killed and lifesaving infrastructure destroyed by all warring parties.
Fourth and most urgent of all, stop the fighting. No amount of money will solve the problems this war continues to create. We need a permanent solution that ends the vicious cycle of conflict, starvation, and destruction. Countries who have taken sides in this conflict should demand a ceasefire, now.
What is happening here in Yemen will be a test of our shared humanity. For nearly six years, Yemeni people have been shouldering an enormous burden. They are exhausted, grieving, and feel abandoned.
Shafaqna Pakistan
pakistan.shafaqan.com