COVID-19 Pandemic May Increase Child Malnutrition Rate In Yemen - WFP Spokesperson

The number of Yemeni children facing acute malnutrition might considerably increase from an already high figure of over two million in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) The number of Yemeni children facing acute malnutrition might considerably increase from an already high figure of over two million in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) told Sputnik.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the rebel Houthi movement for several years now.�

"WFP expects coronavirus to push many more children in Yemen into acute malnutrition. Over 2 million children in Yemen are already acutely malnourished, a figure that WFP fears will increase," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the WFP is providing humanitarian assistance to make sure that children are not left behind, as COVID-19 represents yet another threat to the war-torn country.

Moreover, the WFP mission in Yemen is already bigger than in any other country, as the UN organization currently provides emergency food assistance to over one-third of the population, according to the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, Elisabeth Byrs, a senior spokeswoman in the WFP Geneva Office, told Sputnik that the WFP aims to scale-up its emergency food assistance as well as nutrition intervention to counter moderate and severe malnutrition.

"WFP targets every month 12.5 million people for emergency food assistance. WFP also provides nutrition support to 1.1 million women and children," she said.

However, the work of the WFP has been seriously hampered by the restrictions adopted to halt the spread of COVID-19, according to Byrs.

"Curfew in some parts of Yemen is creating new challenges in delivering food assistance. WFP is doing its best to continue to deliver assistance. WFP is working with the relevant authorities and OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]to allow WFP trucks to deliver food commodities despite curfew and other COVID-19-related travel restrictions," Byrs added.

Yemen has so far confirmed 249 COVID-19 cases and 49 coronavirus-related fatalities. The United Nations, however, has voiced its concern that the actual numbers may be much higher than reported due to low testing capacity.