United Nations fighting in Yemen is severely disrupting healthcare access and driving a sharp rise in childhood acute malnutrition, according to a report by UNICEF. Akhil Iyer, the agency’s country representative for Yemen, warned reporters at the Palais des Nations in Geneva that escalating violence is pushing hunger and malnutrition onto an ever-growing number of children.
Iyer highlighted that 71,000 of the approximately 130,000 people displaced in Yemen over the last three weeks are children. The majority of these displaced individuals have been forced from their homes or relocated within the southwestern governorate of Taiz.
“Conflict drives hunger, and hunger makes children more vulnerable to conflict,” Iyer stated during a videolink from Aden. He expressed deep concern over the visible surge in acute malnutrition cases across the region.
Recent screening efforts by UNICEF mobile teams in accessible areas tested nearly 2,900 children. Iyer revealed that more than a quarter of those screened suffered from acute malnutrition, including 200 cases classified as severe—the most critical category. The agency noted that these figures represent only a fraction of the nationwide crisis, with projections indicating that 2.2 million children under five could face acute malnutrition this year, and over 500,000 could suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
The human toll of the conflict has also claimed young lives. UNICEF verified that at least 15 children were killed and 14 injured since early September, with three still reported missing. “Beyond being uprooted from their homes, too many children have already paid the heaviest price in this conflict,” Iyer said. “Behind every one of those children is a parent living through the unimaginable – grief, fear, or the agony of not knowing.”
The renewed violence marks a significant escalation in Yemen’s civil war, which pitted Saudi-backed government forces against Iran-backed Houthis. Although a truce largely held since 2022, hostilities have intensified this year. In recent weeks, Houthi forces have made substantial territorial gains, capturing the strategic port city of Mocha and nearly the entire Red Sea coast, along with several islands.
These advances have strengthened Houthi control over the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a vital maritime passage. This strategic shift occurs as Saudi Arabia relies on the route for oil shipments following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war. Fighting has also spread toward Yemen’s highlands.
The humanitarian fallout has been severe, with tens of thousands displaced as Houthi forces advanced southward along the Red Sea coast. Many families have fled across the Red Sea to Africa. Additionally, the instability has disrupted education, forcing the closure or suspension of classes at 243 schools over the past three weeks, impacting nearly 140,000 students.
Calling for urgent action, Iyer urged all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, uphold international humanitarian law, and ensure safe, unimpeded access for humanitarian aid. “We cannot keep asking children to survive what they should have never been exposed to in the first place,” he concluded.
I wonder how the ongoing Red Sea tensions are impacting humanitarian logistics? Safe passage seems impossible right now.
The figure of 2.2 million affected children is horrifying. The world must act now to secure aid access before it’s too late.