MALNUTRITION: YEMEN: Child malnutrition alarming in conflict zone

SANAA, 1 November 2010 (IRIN) -
Health workers are finding worrying levels of child malnutrition in Yemen's conflict-hit northern governorate of Saada, particularly in districts that have seen the worst of the fighting.
A UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)-supported survey carried out by the Ministry of Public Health and Population released earlier this month showed that almost half of the 26,246 children aged 6-59 months who were screened in five districts in western Saada were suffering from global acute malnutrition (GAM).
"In one area, the proportion was as high as three out of four children. Overall, 17 percent of the children screened suffer from severe acute malnutrition [SAM] and 28 percent from moderate acute malnutrition," a UNICEF statement said. [ http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/media_56582.html ]
"Malnutrition is the main underlying cause of death for young children in Yemen, and therefore this grim situation could spell disaster for the children of Saada," said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF representative in Yemen. "As winter approaches, thousands of children are at serious risk if we are not able to act immediately."
Across Yemen, 15 percent of children aged under five suffer from GAM. But the protracted conflict in Saada between government forces and Houthi-led Shia rebels seems to have worsened the situation in the north.
GAM and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) are the principal indicators used in nutrition surveys. Prevalences of GAM and SAM are based on the proportion of children aged 6-59 months whose weight and height categorize them below a certain score. [ http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5821a4.htm ]
Diarrhoea, nausea
Four year-old Ahmad Mohammed Hajouri weighs 11.5kg, roughly 7kg less than the average weight of a normal healthy child at the same age.
"Ahmad has been suffering diarrhoea and vomiting for more than one month now. No food remains in his stomach for more than 10 minutes," his father Mohammed Hajouri from al-Malaheedh District in western Saada, told IRIN.
The family returned home in June 2010 after spending almost 10 months in al-Mazraq Camp I for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haradh District, in Hajjah Governorate. They lost one of their children two months ago.
"My daughter Salma died last Ramadan [August 2010] at age three after suffering diarrhoea and nausea for more than three months. Now, we fear that Ahmad may die like his sister," the 40-year-old mother, Khairya, told IRIN.
"We don't have money to take Ahmad to one of the hospitals in the capital Sanaa, or to afford better treatment since the medicines we receive here did not help him heal. He is losing weight by the day," she added.
"Food assistance not enough"
Intermittent fighting since 2004 is not the sole cause of the problem. In rural Yemen as a whole, there is lack of awareness about proper nutrition; bread and tea is a typical breakfast and dinner meal for both adults and children.
"Several children come to us in an advanced state of malnutrition, and therefore their treatment becomes costly and takes several months. Parents don't give their ailing children the right food to remain healthy, nor do they take them to hospitals early enough," Shihab Mohammed, a doctor at the government-run al-Salam Hospital in Saada city, told IRIN.
Samia Mohammed, a former health awareness campaigner at al-Mazraq Camp I, whose population mostly came from western Saada, said hundreds of children were already malnourished on arrival at the camp. "Their mothers were malnourished too," she said.
"Food assistance alone is not enough to address malnutrition," said UNICEF's Cappelaere, adding that major efforts are needed to support household food security, change existing feeding customs and ensure safe water, sanitation and hygiene for populations affected by the conflict.
Despite a ceasefire in February 2010, the extremely volatile security situation has impeded access, and limited the reach of humanitarian agencies.
"UNICEF therefore calls upon all parties to the conflict in Saada as well as the international community, including the Qatari mediation delegation currently visiting Yemen, to ensure that immediate access for humanitarian actors is granted to the entire governorate of Saada to ensure children can receive necessary life-saving assistance," Cappelaere said.
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