Yemen: One million pregnant women are malnourished

English - Tuesday 25 February 2020 الساعة 03:48 pm
Aden, Newsyemen

The United Nations Population Fund said that the growing food shortage in Yemen has left more than a million pregnant and breastfeeding women risking childbirth with severe dwarf growth, and an estimated 144,000 women will experience complications of childbirth.

 In its latest update, the fund added, it is estimated that six million women and girls of childbearing age (15 to 49 years) need support.


According to the United Nations Population Fund, Yemen has the highest maternal mortality rates in the Arab region, food shortages, malnutrition and erosion of health care, exacerbated by epidemics such as cholera, that may lead to an increase in premature or low birth weight children.

 The United Nations said that about 300,000 pregnant and lactating mothers and children under the age of five have not received nutritional supplements for more than six months because the Houthis "held the beneficiaries hostage to the request" allocating 2% of the total value of aid to Yemen to lead the Houthi militia.


Nearly five years of conflict in Yemen have led to the collapse of the economy and social services, millions of Yemenis suffer from hunger and disease and more vulnerable than a year ago, and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world, according to the United Nations.

 The war has displaced up to 4.3 million people in the past three years, while about 3.3 million people remain displaced, and women account for half of the total displaced, 27 percent of them under 18 years of age.


According to the United Nations Population Fund, displaced women and girls tend to suffer more than the lack of privacy, the threats they face and the limited access to basic services, which makes them more vulnerable to violence and abuse.  Displaced girls are more likely to lose access to schools as families.