ASIA/YEMEN - One million children suffer from severe malnutrition

Monday, 23 July 2012

Sana (Agenzia Fides) - Yemen is one of the poorest Arab countries in the world, where there are one million children suffering from severe malnutrition while their families are struggling to be able to buy food. The political turmoil that has hit the country in the last year and a half have left the country on the brink of a humanitarian crisis and international aid agencies estimate that half of the 24 million inhabitants in the country are malnourished. Unemployment and food prices have increased, foreign aid has declined, the price of basic commodities such as rice has risen by 60%. This has also led to a precarious distribution of electricity, resulting in the increase of fuel prices. According to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), the problem is not so much the availability but the access to the purchase of essential goods, since so many people are unable to buy. Malnutrition in children causes severe and debilitating diseases, and if physical condition deteriorates, it can also lead to death. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 23/7/2012)


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