3 million children born into war in Yemen

16th January 2018

DUBLIN / SANA’A, 16 January 2018More than 3 million children were born in Yemen since the escalation in violence in March 2015 according to a UNICEF report. Born into War details how children in Yemen have been scarred by years of violence, displacement, disease, poverty, undernutrition and a lack of access to basic services including water, health care and education.

“An entire generation of children in Yemen is growing up knowing nothing but violence. Children in Yemen are suffering the devastating consequences of a war that is not of their making,” said Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Representative in Yemen. “Malnutrition and disease are rampant as basic services collapse. Those who survive are likely to carry the physical and psychological scars of conflict for the rest of their lives.”

According to the report:

Even before the conflict escalated in 2015, Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East and among the poorest in the world. Yemen has suffered decades of conflict, under- development, economic decline, and the destruction of fragile public infrastructure and services. Most children and families survive only thanks to humanitarian assistance.

The report calls on all parties to the conflict, those with influence on them and the global community to prioritise the protection of children in Yemen by:

Notes to editors:

Download photos, video and b-roll here: here

Full report, ENG/AR: here

A UNICEF representative in Yemen is available for interview.

Find out more about UNICEF’s work for children in Yemen here: http://uni.cf/yemencrisis

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, to build a better world for everyone. For more information, visit www.unicef.ie

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For more information, please contact:

Aedín Donnelly, Communications and Media Manager for UNICEF Ireland | aedin@unicef.ie | Tel: +353 1 809 0281 | Mob: +353 85 1395272

Bismarck Swangin, UNICEF Yemen, bswangin@unicef.org, +967 712 223 161

Juliette Touma, UNICEF MENA Regional Office, jtouma@unicef.org ; +962 798 674 628

Tamara Kummer, UNICEF MENA Regional Office, tkummer@unicef.org ; +962 797 588 550

Christopher Tidey, UNICEF New York, ctidey@unicef.org +1 917 340 3017

 

ENDS

Photo: On 8 January 2017, an infant who was born prematurely receives treatment in Alsabeen Hospital, Sana’a. © UNICEF/UN0156167/Fuad
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