Yemeni government: 50 percent of children suffer from “chronic malnutrition”

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak announced on Sunday that 50 percent of the country's children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

This came in a speech he delivered during an event in the temporary capital, Aden (southern Yemen), on the occasion of World Population Day, which fell on July 11, according to the official Yemeni news agency, Saba.

Bin Mubarak stressed that his government's vision "focuses on the fact that the human resource is the most important resource that must be invested and improved by providing customized services and programmes, despite the great challenges and financial and economic pressures it faces."

He pointed out that "the challenges facing the government in the demographic aspect are that 45% of the population is under the age of 16, and 65% are of working age, while 50% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and 21% of them suffer from stunting as a result." .

He said, "The seriousness of these numbers requires dealing with them seriously, standing up to them with great responsibility, and giving them priority in all plans, programs, and spending."

He pointed out that there are "financial and economic pressures facing the government to deal with these challenges as a result of the ongoing war by the terrorist Houthi militia, which has deprived the Yemeni people of benefiting from their resources," the agency reported.

The population of Yemen is about 32 million, most of whom are in need of humanitarian aid, according to previous UN reports. The country is suffering from a severe economic crisis, exacerbated by the cessation of oil exports in October 2022, as a result of attacks launched by the Houthis on oil ports in areas under government control.