A renewed surge in fighting across Yemen is forcing thousands of families from their homes and placing children at growing risk of death, injury, hunger and the loss of essential services.
More than 104,000 people have been displaced in just two weeks, including over 57,000 children, according to UNICEF. The agency warned on Sept. 16 that renewed hostilities are worsening a humanitarian emergency that has already shaped the lives of millions of Yemeni children.
Since Sept. 3, at least nine children have been reported killed and 12 injured, according to UNICEF. Three additional children were reported missing following an attack on the road running from Yemen’s western coast toward Aden.
The latest violence comes after years of conflict, economic hardship and disruption to basic services. UNICEF says Yemen continues to face one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises, with children particularly vulnerable to displacement, malnutrition, disease and interrupted education.
“Children in Yemen were already living through one of the world’s most grave humanitarian crises, and many have known little but conflict and displacement,” Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the agency’s Sept. 16 statement.
The scale of suffering extends far beyond those newly displaced. According to figures reported by Vatican News from UNICEF, an estimated 12.2 million children in Yemen need humanitarian assistance. More than 2.2 million children under age five are suffering from acute malnutrition, including more than 515,000 experiencing severe acute malnutrition.
Education has also been severely affected. Approximately 3.2 million school-age children are out of school, while the latest fighting has forced 243 schools to close or suspend classes, affecting more than 137,000 students, according to UNICEF. Twenty-six UNICEF-supported health facilities have also experienced disruptions.
UNICEF has expanded its emergency response, including support for health facilities, water and hygiene assistance, and the redeployment of nine mobile health and nutrition teams to displacement sites and affected communities in Aden, Marib and Taiz. The agency says its emergency response is intended to reach as many as 231,000 people affected by the escalation.
The organization is calling on all parties involved in the conflict to protect civilians, particularly children, comply with international humanitarian law and allow humanitarian workers safe and unhindered access to communities in need.
For Catholics, the mounting toll is also a reminder that behind the statistics are children and families whose lives have been disrupted by violence, hunger and displacement. As humanitarian organizations work to reach those in danger, the crisis calls Christians to remember Yemen’s suffering families in prayer and to uphold the dignity and protection of every innocent human life.
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