UNICEF: One child dies every 10 minutes in war-hit Yemen

UNICEF said in a new report on Tuesday that at least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen because of malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory-tract infections.

UN children's fund UNICEF said in its report that nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, victims of the near-collapse of the health care system during two years of escalating conflict, the Daily Star reported.

According to the report, at least 462,000 Yemeni children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition as food supplies have been disrupted by the devastating war the Saudi regime has imposed on  the Yemeni people.

Sa'da Province, in Yemen's far north, has the world's highest stunting rate among children with eight out of 10 children affected in some areas, it added.

"Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing," said UNICEF's acting representative, Meritxell Relano.

"The state of health of children in the Middle East's poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today."

At least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen because of malnutrition and preventable diseases such as diarrhea and respiratory infections.

"Diseases such as cholera and measles have spread and, with few health facilities functional, such outbreaks are taking a heavy toll on children," Relano said.

EA