Millions of children in war-torn Yemen at risk of disease and malnutrition – UNICEF

(UNICEF) – The ongoing conflict in Yemen is having a devastating impact on the country’s health system, and exposing millions of children to the threat of preventable diseases, says UNICEF. “Children are not being vaccinated – either because health centres do not have electricity or the fuel they need to keep vaccines cold and distribute them, or because parents are too frightened by the fighting to take their children to receive vaccinations,” said Dr Peter Salama, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “The tragic result is that children are going to die of diseases like measles and pneumonia that would normally be preventable. ”According to UNICEF, the interruption in vaccination services is putting an estimated 2.6 million children aged under 15 at risk of contracting measles – a potentially fatal disease that spreads rapidly in times of conflict and population displacement.

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