- 5 million people are on the brink of famine and at risk of falling into catastrophic conditions if aid is not massively ramped up
- 24.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, 80% of the population
- Women and girls are likely to be disproportionately affected, given Yemen scores worst in the world for women’s wellbeing
- One million pregnant women are malnourished, and 120,000 women and girls are at risk of violence
- Acute malnutrition threatens half of all children under five
- Nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021
- Half a million children under five could die from hunger in the coming weeks if they don’t get urgent treatment
- One child dies every 10 minutes from malnutrition or a preventable disease.
- Two million children are out of school
- 3.65 million have been displaced since March 2015. Most live in IDP camps
Mark Lowcock, UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said “Yemen is speeding towards the worst famine the world has seen in decades,”. Time is running out. Malnutrition rates are at record highs. About 400,000 children under the age of five are severely malnourished across the country. These are the children with distended bellies, emaciated limbs and blank stares — starving to death. More than 16 million people are going hungry, including 5 million who are just one step away from famine.
See Mark Lowcock on Sky News: Choices have been made to Abandon People in Yemen