UN warns of surging child malnutrition in parts of Yemen

Dubai: A United Nations task force on Sunday warned of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen s government controlled areas, reporting extremely critica...

Dubai: A United Nations task force on Sunday warned of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen's government-controlled areas, reporting "extremely critical" levels of malnutrition in parts of the country's south for the first time.

"The number of children under the age of five suffering acute malnutrition, or wasting, rose by 34 per cent compared to the previous year ... affecting over 600,000 children, including 120,000 children who are severely malnourished," UNICEF said of the latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative, of which it is a part.

Yemen has been engulfed in a devastating conflict since 2014 between the internationally recognised government, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

The turmoil has plunged the country, already the poorest in the Arabian Peninsula before the war, into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

"The sharp rise is driven by the compounded effect of disease outbreaks (cholera and measles), high food insecurity, limited access to safe drinking water, and economic decline," the UN children's agency added.