Yemen: UNICEF saves lives of 16,000 malnourished children in Hudaydah

More than 16,000 Yemeni children suffering from severe malnutrition in the war torn Yemeni port town of Hudaydah have been saved as a result of work completed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“We managed to save lives of 16,289 severely malnourished children in the 1st half of 2018 in #Hodeidah,” UNICEF said on Twitter.

We managed to save lives of 16,289 severely malnourished children in the 1st half of 2018 in #Hodeidah, despite constraints and escalation of conflict. We are working non-stop to save more.

In #Yemen, 400k under 5-year children are severely malnourished.#ChildrenUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/LNUCDTm076

— UNICEF Yemen (@UNICEF_Yemen) July 8, 2018

The UN organisation pointed out that the rescue activities were carried out during the first half of 2018 “despite constraints and escalation of conflict.”

“We are working non-stop to save more,” it stressed.

WHO: Health situation in Hudaydah worst in Yemen

At the moment, UNICEF explained, there are around 400,000 malnourished children scattered across Yemen’s provinces.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared that the health status in Hudaydah was “the worst” with the highest rates of malnutrition across the war-torn country.

Since 13 June, the Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, have been carrying out a military operation to recapture Hudaydah and its strategic harbour on the Red Sea from Houthis. They recently took control over the city’s airport.