Malnutrition Kills Two Children in Sana’a

Two children have died at the Al Sabeen Maternal and Child Hospital in the capital Sana’a due to severe acute malnutrition.

The Director General of the hospital, Dr. Majida Al-Khatib said that a 7-months-old child, Al-Hanouf, has died in March, while a 7-months-old child, Abdulrahman, has died in July. The two children arrived at the hospital’s pediatric ward, in very poor condition, medical and therapeutic interventions could not save their lives, she added.

Al-Khatib said that the number of children arriving at the hospital’s sleep section reached 289 with severe malnutrition cases from March until the end of August.

The Ministry of Public Health and Population in Sana’a reported that a Yemeni child dies every 10 minutes due to malnutrition or other diseases, a statistic consistent with a UN report issued in September 2018.

Save the Children in Yemen reported that 85,000 Yemeni children under five have died of malnutrition during the first three years of aggression.

Malnutrition among children is widespread due to the continued aggression and siege imposed on Yemen for the fifth year.