UNICEF says over one in four children screened in Yemen are acutely malnourished

25 September 2026

UNICEF said renewed fighting between Houthi forces and Government troops in Yemen has deepened a child hunger emergency.
Of nearly 2,900 children screened in accessible areas, more than one in four was acutely malnourished and around 200 had severe acute malnutrition.
Over the past three weeks nearly 130,000 people, including an estimated 71,000 children, have been forced from their homes, mostly in Taiz governorate.
Since 3 September, UNICEF verified that at least 15 children have been killed and 14 injured.
WHO said UN operations are suspended in 90 of the 105 health-cluster priority districts in northern Yemen.
UNICEF's representative in Yemen, Akhil Iyer, briefed journalists from Aden.