A United Nations task force yesterday warned of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen’s government-controlled areas, reporting “extremely critical” levels of malnutrition in parts of the country’s south for the first time.
“The number of children under the age of five suffering acute malnutrition, or wasting, rose by 34 percent compared to the previous year … affecting over 600,000 children, including 120,000 children who are severely malnourished,” Unicef said of the latest report by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative.
Yemen has been engulfed in a devastating conflict since 2014 between the internationally recognised government, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
