Even if the five-year war in Yemen were to end today, it would take two decades for the impoverished country’s children to reach the lesser level of malnutrition they suffered before the conflict, according to the International Rescue Committee's report The War Destroyed Our Dreams.
“Yemen is now home to the largest food insecure population in the world,” says the 20-page report.
And the situation is worsening. Just a year ago, famine was declared in certain parts of the country. Now, 80 per cent of the country’s population of 24 million is facing severe food shortages and living on the edge of famine, with children suffering the most.
“It means each child is robbed of opportunities they would have had,” said Frank McManus, Yemen director for the IRC, “Malnourishment is not something you can recover from,” he said. “It will shorten your height. It will limit your opportunities. It will impact how you will develop. his will also restrict the development of the nation,” he continued. “So much of the youth will be less than they could have been if they hadn’t gone through this.”
Humanitarian aid by international organisations remains the sole lifeline for the country, which has suffered an economic collapse because of the war.
No comments:
Post a Comment