14 million vaccine doses delivered to Yemen's Aden: UN

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA

More than 14 million doses of vaccine for children have been delivered to Yemen’s southern city of Aden (which currently serves as the government’s interim capital), the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) said Thursday.

"More than 14 million doses of measles and rubella vaccine have arrived at Aden’s international airport," UNICEF’s Yemen office said in a tweet, noting that the doses were sufficient to meet the needs of some 13 million children between the ages of six months and 15 years.

“The vaccines were delivered as part of the next phase of a national campaign against measles and rubella in Yemen,” the agency said.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthi rebel group overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

To date, tens of thousands of Yemenis -- including numerous civilians -- are believed to have been killed in the war, which has also left much of the country’s basic infrastructure in ruins.

Reporting by Mohamed al-Samei:Writing by Mahmoud Barakat