Key facts
- More than a quarter of nearly 2,900 children screened recently by UNICEF in accessible areas were acutely malnourished.
- 200 of those children were considered severe acute malnutrition cases.
- Over 71,000 children have been displaced in the past three weeks due to the conflict.
- UNICEF is recording more daily cases of child malnutrition in areas it can access where internally displaced people have recently arrived.
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documented three attacks on internally displaced people's sites in August and September, causing dozens of casualties and killing five children.
- The UN human rights office documented 32 civilian deaths, including 15 children and 3 women, since August.
Child malnutrition has risen sharply in Yemen, including in the most severe cases, as intensified fighting disrupts access to healthcare and treatment centers, the United Nations children's agency reported. Over a quarter of nearly 2,900 children screened in recent weeks by UNICEF mobile nutrition teams in accessible areas were acutely malnourished, with 200 considered severe cases.
Yemen's civil war between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthis has escalated significantly after a 2022 truce largely froze the conflict. Violence has flared along old front lines, with the Houthis advancing along the Red Sea coast, prompting a humanitarian crisis and displacing over 133,000 people, including approximately 71,000 children in the past three weeks alone.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documented three attacks by Ansar Allah, the formal name for the Houthi movement, on sites for internally displaced people in August and September, resulting in dozens of casualties and five child deaths. Overall, the UN human rights office has documented 32 civilian deaths, including 15 children and 3 women, since August. The World Health Organization reported that some health facilities were directly attacked, and an ambulance driver and a medic were killed in Lahj on September 18.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam denied the UN human rights office's allegations, accusing it of ignoring Saudi bombardment. Saudi officials have stated their forces do not target civilians. UNICEF projects that 2.2 million children under five will be acutely malnourished this year, with over half a million suffering from severe acute malnutrition.