Yemen Conflict: Over a thousand child casualties so far – UNICEF

SANAA, 19 August 2015 – An average of eight children are being killed or maimed every day in Yemen as a direct result of the conflict gripping the country, according to a report released by UNICEF.

Yemen: Childhood Under Threat says that nearly 400 children have been killed and over 600 others injured since the violence escalated some four months ago.

Disrupted health services, increased levels of child malnutrition, closed schools and higher numbers of children recruited by fighting groups are among the effects of the conflict now ravaging the Arab world's poorest country.

“This conflict is a particular tragedy for Yemeni children”, said UNICEF Representative in Yemen, Julien Harneis. “Children are being killed by bombs or bullets and those that survive face the growing threat of disease and malnutrition. This cannot be allowed to continue”, he added.

The report underlines that as devastating as the conflict is for the lives of children right now, it will have terrifying consequences for their future.

Across the country, nearly 10 million children – 80 per cent of the country's under-18 population – are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. More than 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. 

Yemen: Childhood Under Threat outlines the different dimensions of the crisis facing children including:

• At least 398 children killed and 605 injured as a result since the conflict escalated in March. 
• Children recruited or used in the conflict has more than doubled – from 156 in 2014 to 377 so far verified in 2015.
• 15.2 million people lack access to basic health care, with 900 health facilities closed since March 26.
• 1.8 million children are likely to suffer from some form of malnutrition by the end of the year.
• 20.4 million people are in need of assistance to establish or maintain access to safe water and sanitation due to fuel shortages, infrastructure damage and insecurity.
• Nearly 3,600 schools have closed down, affecting over 1.8 million children. 

UNICEF has been at the centre of humanitarian operations in Yemen since the beginning of the conflict. Its staff working across the country are responding to the critical needs of children by providing life-saving services including distribution of safe water and treatment of children with malnutrition, as well as diarrhoea, measles and pneumonia.

Over the past six months, the children's agency has provided psychological support to help over 150,000 children cope with the horrors of the conflict. 280,000 people have learnt how to avoid injury from unexploded ordnances and mines.

Yet despite the tremendous needs, UNICEF's response remains grossly underfunded. With only 16 per cent of the agency's funding appeal of $182.6 million met so far, Yemen is one of the most under-funded of the different emergencies UNICEF is currently responding to around the world.

“We urgently need funds so we can reach children in desperate need,” said Harneis. “We cannot stand by and let children suffer the consequences of a humanitarian catastrophe.”

UNICEF reiterates its call on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to stop targeting civilians and crucial infrastructure like schools, water and health facilities. UNICEF again emphasizes the urgent to end the conflict once and for all.