UN agency says famine in Yemen endangering 2 million mothers

The UN Population Fund is warning that the looming famine in war-torn Yemen could put 2 million mothers at risk of death.

UNFPA said late on Thursday that lack of food, displacement, poor nutrition, disease outbreaks and eroding health care have dramatically affected the health and well-being of 1.1 million malnourished women who are pregnant or are breast-feeding their newborns.

Since March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has waged war in Yemen against the country's Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, who toppled the internationally recognised government.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed over 10,000 people and sparked the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

 

The UN has made no progress in attempts to get the warring sides to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict.