Yemen: UNICEF to vaccine 2.8M children

SANAA, Yemen

The UN Children's Agency on Wednesday announced it had launched a vaccination campaign in Yemen to combat diphtheria.

UNICEF’s health campaign has already started in Al-Hudaydah, Al-Cavf, Marib, Zamar, Al-Bayba and Ibb cities, according to a statement on social media.

The vaccination project is planned to reach about 2.8 million children, the statement said.

Earlier UN reports state that more than 200 people have lost their lives due to diphtheria since 2017 and over 4,000 people had the disease.

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

The clashes inflicted heavy damage on the daily life of the civilians who bear the brunt of the war.

As a result of the clashes and air strikes, civilians face a huge humanitarian tragedy, due to malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, shortages of medicines and medical supplies, as well as the closure of health centers, which cause epidemics such as diphtheria and cholera.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas