UNICEF: Yemen ‘Teetering on Edge of Complete Collapse’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore called Yemen the most dangerous place on earth for children, warning that the impoverished Arab country is “teetering on the edge of complete collapse” as a result of the ongoing Saudi-led war.
"Over 80 percent of people require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection. Including 12 million children, whose lives are a waking nightmare,” Fore said recently during a virtual event.
She added, "It is perhaps the most dangerous place on earth to be a child. One child dies every ten minutes from a preventable disease. Two million are out of school. And thousands have been killed, maimed, or recruited since 2015. Just last week, 11 were reportedly killed, including a one-month-old baby."
"The situation on the ground is a tangle of crises – any one of which would bring a country to its knees. Conflicts across 49 frontlines – up from 36 in just one year. An economy in tatters – families can no longer cope."
"Support systems and infrastructure – from hospitals and schools to water and sanitation systems – on the brink of collapse. A COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the country. Through all of this, our humanitarian teams are facing fighting, blockades, and bureaucratic hurdles to reach the millions who need our help,” Fore stressed, according to the Middle East Monitor.
She continued, "And now, despite repeated warnings, the country is facing a nutrition crisis. 2.1 million children are acutely malnourished – and almost 358,000 severely malnourished. We believe famine-like conditions have already begun for some children."
The UNICEF official reiterated, "These are not just numbers on a page. These are millions of individual tragedies. Millions of blighted futures. And millions of parents making the gut-wrenching choice between food and medical care for their children."
Saudi Arabia launched a devastating military aggression against Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allied states, such as the UAE, and with arms support from the US and several Western countries.
The aim was to return to power the Riyadh-backed regime of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and defeat the Houthi Ansarullah movement that has taken control of state matters.
Since then, over 100,000 people have been killed, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
The war has failed to achieve its goals, but killed tens of thousands of innocent Yemenis and destroyed the impoverished country’s infrastructure. The UN refers to the situation in Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
