Right now, 400,000 children in Yemen are dangerously underweight and suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The ongoing war has caused economic instability and nationwide food shortages leaving the most vulnerable at risk. Saba, and thousands of the children like her, need life-saving therapeutic food, such as plumpy nut and fortified milk, to survive.

 

Read Saba’s story to learn how your donation can help save malnourished children like her.

Saba’s Story

Saba with her mother. Almahbashi | Yemen | 2018 

Saba, a little girl from Hudaydah in Yemen, is suffering from severe acute malnutrition with additional complications of fever and diarrhoea.

Weak from hunger, Saba can hardly cry. She comforts herself by sucking her thumb, while her mother holds her and strokes her hair.

Her condition is so serious that doctors at UNICEF’s therapeutic feeding centre fear she won’t survive. She weighs just 5.7 kilograms.

Unemployment and Food Shortages

The civil war has caused widespread food shortages and unemployment, leaving many families without the means to buy food.

A doctor measures Saba’s arm with a MUAC tape. She’s severely malnourished. Almahbashi | Yemen | 2018 

Ashwaq Al-Raei, Saba’s mother says her husband hasn’t been able to find work since the conflict began.

To help her family survive, she has started breeding livestock.  “I sometimes sell some sheep to get money. We were keeping bees for honey in the past but everything has gone. We used to eat bread and take tea but now we don’t even have bread,” she said.

Help Children in Yemen Today

High-calorie therapeutic food, which is fortified with minerals, will save children from starvation.

Fortified Milk

UNICEF staff preparing life-saving fortified milk. Almahbashi | Yemen | 2018 

Fortified milk is used to treat children who are too weak to eat. The milk is rich in nutrients, and quickly gives children the sustenance they need to recover.

A donation of €150 will provide enough fortified milk for 30 children in one week.

Peanut Paste

These ready-to-eat sachets of plumpy nut are high in calories and fortified with vitamins and minerals. The paste can be eaten directly and doesn’t have to be mixed with water to be prepared.

A gift of €100 would supply enough peanut paste to treat 20 malnourished children for two weeks.  

High-Calorie Biscuits

Special biscuits that are packed full of vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, iron and healthy fats are lifesaving snacks, which are ideal in emergencies. The biscuits provide children with everything they need to prevent malnutrition

A gift of just €50 will provide 10 children with enough life-saving biscuits for three weeks.

Donate Now

Right now, there are 400,000 children like Saba suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Yemen, but you can help them.

Please donate today. Your gift saves lives.