War Set Back Human Development In Yemen By 21 Years - UN Report

The conflict in Yemen has held back human development in the country by 21 years, the UN Development Program (UNDP) said in a new report on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2019) The conflict in Yemen has held back human development in the country by 21 years, the UN Development Program (UNDP) said in a new report on Tuesday.

"The conflict has already set back human development by 21 years," the report said.

The UNDP study estimates that if the conflict were to end by 2020 the country's development would be set back by 26 years, and if the war continues by 2030, the setback increases to 39 years, leaving one-in-five Yemenis physically stunted.

Additionally, the report found that if the conflict were to end this year, it would account for 233,000 deaths, including both combat and indirect ones due to malnutrition, lack of health services and infrastructure, as well as it would result in one child death about every 12 minutes.

From 2016 to 2018, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project recorded 63,138 deaths among both combatants and civilians in Yemen. About 85,000 children have died from starvation since the beginning of the conflict, Save the Children said.

Yemen has been engulfed in a violent conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.

The intense fighting between the two sides resulted in one of the world's most acute humanitarian crises, with about 22 million people in Yemen currently in need of some form of humanitarian assistance or protection, according to the UN figures.