In Yemen:The youngest victims of a worldwide food crisis... details‏‏

English version

اليمن العربي

The scene is sadly familiar in Yemen، an emaciated infant body lies motionless on a hospital bed، struggling to breathe. The 16-month little girl is fighting starvation، bearing the brunt of a war that has raged in her country for eight years. She is also one of the youngest victims of a worldwide food crisis.

For years، deadly hunger has been an everyday threat for hundreds of thousands of Yemen’s children. And as the war threatens to escalate between the warring parties after months of a tenuous truce، there are fears that it could get even worse.


The UN estimates that 500،000 children are in the similar dangerous state، known as severe acute malnutrition، as Hafsa Ahmed، the 16-month-old whose body is covered with sores، with barely enough strength to open her eyes.

Dozens like her are now showing up every month at a clinic in the southern province of Hodeidah، signaling a possible new wave of suffering.

The crisis has been brought on by the country’s civil war but also food shortages due to the conflict in Ukraine، from where Yemen formerly sourced 40 percent of its wheat، according to the International Monetary Fund. A recent study by the fund found that food prices have risen 58 percent since the start of the year.

Hafsa is the youngest of the family’s six siblings، one of whom already died from malnutrition-related causes. They live in the district of Hays، about 120 kilometers (74 miles) south of the crucial port city of Hodeidah، which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in Yemen’s conflict.

Her 47-year-old father، Ahmed، works as a day laborer، but the wages cover barely enough for a little flour and cooking oil. They have received assistance from charities، but it’s also not enough.

Born in June 2021، her mother says three of her siblings survived acute malnutrition-related diseases. Hafsa has been in the malnutrition ward of the town’s Hays public hospital، a facility with only the most basic of resources.

Her mother، who asked to be identified as Um Hafsa، was by her side.

She was among roughly another dozen babies in the same room، all suffering several acute malnutrition، according to hospital officials.

Nabouta Hassan، a doctor at the hospital، said they receive up to 30 children suffering from diseases related to acute malnutrition every month. Most of the children، she said، have come to them late، with clearly visible marks of malnutrition on their tiny bodies، including swollen bellies and twig-like limbs and other symptoms of lack of nutrients and protein.

She said that most of the admitted children suffer from prolonged malnutrition that is already seriously life-threatening، that “eventually causes their organs to stop functioning.”

It’s difficult to know how many children have died from starvation since the war started. The charity Save The Children estimated that one child dies every ten minutes in Yemen because of preventable diseases such as diarrhea، malnutrition and respiratory tract infections. In 2018، the charity said some 85،000 children younger than 5 lost their lives to hunger in just the first three years of the war.

And the situation has become more dire in recent years as donor countries cut back on aid because of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine، which rattled the global economy and caused prices soar across the world. Even before such global disasters، there were concerns among donors that the aid might not be reaching its intended recipients in territories controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Hodeidah، along with the northern province of Hajjah، include the areas hardest hit by extremely severe food insecurity and acute malnutrition، according to the United Nations’ assessment.

The conflict in Yemen has pushed the country to the brink of famine and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

The war began in 2014، when the Iran-backed Houthis swept down from the mountains and occupied northern Yemen and the capital، Sanaa. The Houthis pushed the internationally recognized government to the south and eventually into exile.

As the Iranian-backed militia pushed farther south، the Arab Coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015، describing their involvement as an effort to stop Iran from gaining sway over the country.

The stalemated conflict has killed more than 150،000 people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters، with more than 3 million people internally displaced and two-thirds of the population reliant on food assistance for survival.

Earlier this month، the country’s warring parties failed to reach an agreement to extend a 6-month-long truce that was the war’s longest lull in fighting.