SANA'A

The government has welcomed a new campaign launched on 5 October by NGO Save the Children to help reduce child mortality in Yemen, which has the highest rate in the Middle East and one of the highest in the world outside Africa.







“This is a good move to save the lives of children in Yemen; a poor country where 74 in every 1,000 children die before they reach one year of age and 104 in every 1,000 die before age five,” said Fahd al-Sabri, a reproductive health expert at the government’s National Population Council.







Yemen was ranked 48th worst in the world for child mortality in 2009 by a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report . However, it appears progress is being made as Yemen was ranked 73rd in 2007 and 147th in 1990.







Al-Sabri told IRIN that diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections were the primary causes of under-five deaths. “Thirteen percent of under-fives in the country suffer anaemia and are underweight, which means their lives are at high risk if no effective interventions are undertaken.”







The initiative in Yemen is part of Save the Children’s global Survive to 5 campaign first announced on 6 September in New York.















This is a good move to save the lives of children in Yemen; a poor country where 74 in every 1,000 children die before they reach one year of age and 104 in every 1,000 die before age five













Displaced children need friendly spaces to play Save the Children's campaign aims to save the lives of 500,000 children over the next five years in 40 developing countries, including Yemen... Yemen Save the Children Displaced children need friendly spaces to play Human Rights New drive to reduce child mortality Displaced children need friendly spaces to play



Photo: Save the Children





Save the Children's campaign aims to save the lives of 500,000 children over the next five years in 40 developing countries, including Yemen





