By Iroyin Yoruba Television
Renewed fighting in Yemen is deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis, with children facing rapidly worsening hunger and malnutrition as violence forces families from their homes and disrupts access to healthcare, food and essential services.
The latest assessment released on Friday, September 25, paints a particularly serious picture. UNICEF said approximately 2.2 million children under the age of five in Yemen are expected to suffer acute malnutrition by the end of 2026, including more than 500,000 children facing severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous form of the condition.
The warning comes as fighting between Houthi forces and Yemen's internationally recognised government has intensified after years in which the conflict had been largely frozen by a fragile truce.
The renewed violence has displaced large numbers of civilians, disrupted access to medical facilities and placed additional pressure on communities that were already struggling with years of food insecurity and inadequate public services.
UNICEF officials said the situation is deteriorating rapidly in areas where fighting has intensified, particularly as families flee violence and arrive in locations where health and nutrition services are already stretched.
During recent screening operations, UNICEF mobile nutrition teams assessed nearly 2,900 children in areas where humanitarian workers were able to reach the population safely. More than one in four of those children was found to be acutely malnourished, while more than 200 were suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Humanitarian officials stressed that the figures should not be interpreted as representing the entire population of children in Yemen. The screening was carried out only in locations where humanitarian access was possible, meaning the true scale of the crisis could be broader.
The situation has been illustrated by the experiences of children arriving at displacement centres after fleeing areas affected by the renewed fighting.
At a displacement centre in Aden, humanitarian workers recently encountered a four-year-old boy suffering from severe acute malnutrition after his family fled violence in Mokha District. The family reportedly left their home and belongings behind while attempting to reach safety.
The child's circumstances reflect a wider pattern emerging across Yemen: fighting forces families to move suddenly, while displacement makes it more difficult for parents to obtain adequate food, clean water, medicine and specialised treatment for sick or malnourished children.
UNICEF has described the relationship between conflict and hunger as a dangerous cycle. Violence drives families from their homes and livelihoods, while hunger and poor health make children more vulnerable to disease and the consequences of further displacement.
The latest escalation has also produced a major displacement crisis.
About 130,000 people, including approximately 71,000 children, have been displaced over a period of roughly three weeks, according to figures cited by UNICEF. Most of the displacement has occurred within or from areas of southwestern Yemen, particularly Taiz Governorate.
Families fleeing the fighting often have little opportunity to prepare before leaving.
Many leave behind homes, livestock, businesses and other sources of income. Once displaced, they frequently depend on humanitarian assistance, relatives or overcrowded displacement centres for survival.
The consequences for children can be particularly severe.
A child who loses access to regular meals may quickly become malnourished, especially if that child is already suffering from illness. Diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and other conditions can become more dangerous when a child's nutritional condition is already poor.
Healthcare disruption compounds the problem.
Hospitals, clinics and treatment centres in conflict-affected areas can become difficult or dangerous to reach. Medical workers may also be unable to travel to communities where assistance is needed because roads are insecure or fighting is taking place nearby.
This means that children who might otherwise receive relatively straightforward treatment can arrive at healthcare facilities in much worse condition.
The crisis is also affecting education.
Reports indicate that hundreds of schools have been forced to close or suspend classes because of the renewed violence, affecting more than 137,000 students.
School closures create consequences that extend beyond education.
Schools can provide children with structure, protection and, in some circumstances, access to meals or other forms of assistance. When they close, children can lose access to several forms of support at the same time.
Displacement also makes continuing education difficult because families may move repeatedly or settle in locations without functioning schools.
The renewed fighting comes after years of conflict that have already weakened Yemen's economy and public institutions.
The country relies heavily on imported food, making the operation of ports and other transportation routes particularly important to the population's ability to obtain essential supplies.
Any disruption to major transport corridors can therefore have consequences for food availability and prices, especially in communities already experiencing severe poverty.
The humanitarian situation is also being affected by funding shortages.
International aid organisations have warned that they do not have sufficient resources to meet all the needs created by the renewed displacement and worsening food insecurity. Earlier this month, the World Food Programme said more than 18 million people in Yemen were facing severe food insecurity, while humanitarian operations were being complicated by insecurity and restrictions on access.
The combination of conflict, displacement, poverty and reduced humanitarian access creates a particularly difficult environment for children.
Even where emergency food is available, families may still struggle to reach distribution centres. Where medical treatment exists, insecurity may prevent patients from travelling to facilities. And where schools remain open, displaced children may not have the documents, transport or stable accommodation needed to attend.
The latest humanitarian warning therefore concerns more than hunger alone.
It is about the disruption of the basic systems required to keep children alive and healthy.
UNICEF has been expanding emergency assistance through mobile health and nutrition teams, water services and child-protection programmes. The agency said it intends to reach hundreds of thousands of people affected by the current crisis, provided humanitarian access and resources remain available.
Mobile teams are particularly important in conflict zones because they can reach displaced families who are far from established health facilities.
They can screen children for malnutrition, provide treatment or referrals, distribute essential supplies and identify severe cases requiring more advanced medical care.
However, such operations cannot fully replace functioning hospitals and permanent health systems.
The scale of the crisis means humanitarian agencies require safe access to affected communities and sufficient funding to maintain operations.
The renewed fighting has also created concern about further displacement.
UNHCR has warned that the number of people forced from their homes could continue increasing if the conflict persists. More than 130,000 people had already been displaced during the latest escalation, while thousands had crossed the Red Sea toward countries in Africa.
The possibility of further population movement presents additional challenges for neighbouring countries and humanitarian organisations.
People fleeing Yemen by sea face their own risks, while host communities and aid agencies must cope with additional demands for shelter, food, healthcare and protection.
For families who remain inside Yemen, displacement can also become prolonged.
Some people may be unable to return to their homes because fighting continues or because their communities lack functioning services. Others may find that their homes or livelihoods have been damaged during the conflict.
Children are particularly vulnerable during prolonged displacement because malnutrition, interrupted schooling and psychological distress can have effects that continue long after the immediate emergency ends.
The international response therefore faces two connected challenges.
The first is immediate humanitarian assistance: getting food, clean water, medical treatment and protection to people who need them.
The second is reducing the violence that continues to create new humanitarian needs.
Humanitarian organisations can treat malnutrition, but they cannot by themselves end the conflict that is causing families to lose homes and livelihoods.
A sustainable improvement in the humanitarian situation would require greater security for civilians, safe humanitarian access and a political process capable of reducing the fighting.
The renewed violence also threatens to undermine progress made during the period of relative calm that followed the 2022 truce.
That period did not resolve Yemen's political conflict, but the reduction in large-scale fighting provided some space for humanitarian work and allowed communities to experience periods of greater stability.
The current escalation has reversed some of those gains.
Fighting around important areas on Yemen's western and southern approaches has created new displacement routes and placed pressure on already vulnerable communities.
The country's strategic location also means that developments in Yemen have consequences beyond its borders.
The Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb are major international maritime routes. Instability in and around these waterways can affect commercial shipping, energy transportation and international trade.
The humanitarian crisis is therefore unfolding alongside wider regional security concerns.
For ordinary Yemeni families, however, the immediate issue is more basic: finding food, keeping children safe and obtaining medical treatment.
The story of displaced children suffering from severe malnutrition provides a direct indication of how quickly conflict can turn a security crisis into a public-health emergency.
Children who are already undernourished require timely treatment because severe acute malnutrition can become life-threatening without appropriate care.
Delays caused by fighting, displacement or shortages of medical supplies can therefore have serious consequences.
Humanitarian officials have repeatedly called on all parties to protect civilians and ensure that aid workers can reach people in need.
Those calls have become more urgent as the conflict expands into areas where large civilian populations are located.
The latest figures also show why the humanitarian situation should not be viewed solely through the number of people displaced.
Displacement is one measure of the crisis, but malnutrition, school closures, healthcare disruption and food insecurity reveal additional layers of suffering that may not be immediately visible.
A family can remain in its home and still experience a humanitarian emergency if food becomes unaffordable, medical facilities become inaccessible or schools are forced to close.
For children, the consequences can accumulate rapidly.
A missed meal can become repeated hunger. Repeated hunger can develop into acute malnutrition. Malnutrition can weaken the immune system, increasing vulnerability to disease. If treatment is delayed because of insecurity, the risk becomes even greater.
This is why humanitarian agencies are placing particular emphasis on early screening and treatment.
The nearly 2,900 children recently screened by mobile teams provide a snapshot of the wider problem. More than a quarter were acutely malnourished, while hundreds required attention for severe cases.
The numbers also underline the importance of reaching children who remain beyond the areas where humanitarian teams can safely operate.
If accessible communities are already recording high levels of malnutrition, there are concerns that children in isolated or conflict-affected areas may be facing equal or greater risks without receiving medical assessment.
Yemen's latest crisis therefore requires sustained international attention rather than a short-term emergency response.
The country has endured years of war, economic hardship and humanitarian pressure, leaving many families with little capacity to absorb another major shock.
The renewed fighting is now adding another layer of displacement and hunger to an already fragile situation.
Humanitarian agencies are increasing their operations, but their ability to respond will depend on funding, security and access.
For children like the four-year-old boy recently treated after fleeing Mokha, timely assistance can determine whether severe malnutrition becomes a survivable emergency or a fatal one.
For thousands of other children who have not yet been screened, the availability of safe access and adequate humanitarian resources may determine whether they receive help in time.
The latest warning from humanitarian agencies has therefore placed child hunger at the centre of the international response to Yemen's renewed conflict.
With approximately 2.2 million children under five projected to face acute malnutrition by the end of the year, including more than half a million severe cases, the humanitarian consequences of the fighting are expected to remain substantial unless conditions improve.
The immediate priority remains protecting civilians, maintaining access to healthcare and ensuring that food and nutrition services reach displaced families.
Beyond that, reducing the violence remains essential if Yemen is to prevent another generation of children from growing up amid displacement, hunger and disrupted education.
The latest developments demonstrate that the cost of renewed conflict is being measured not only in territory gained or lost, but also in the health and future of children who have little control over the circumstances surrounding them.
For Yemen's families, the need is immediate: safety, food, medical care and a stable place to live.
For the international community, the growing humanitarian emergency represents another urgent test of whether assistance can reach vulnerable populations while diplomatic efforts seek to prevent the conflict from deteriorating further.