Despite the number of the civil society organizations working in the maternal and childhood field, only a few number of these organizations have real presence on the ground.

Deputy Minister of Social and Labor Affairs for the Development Sector Ali Saleh Abdullah said that less than half of the 500 available organizations play a vital role in carrying out activities that serve their goals.

At the launch of a workshop on the outcomes of a field study on evaluating the medical conditions of children under five years old and mothers in the war-affected northern province of Saada, the deputy previewed the government's continued efforts to provide necessary

needs for children and mothers. “The government pays a lot of attention to this issue, which requires further expansion and development”, he said.

At the workshop, which was organized by the Islah Charity Organization in collaboration with the UNICEF, Abdullah stressed the necessity for conducting studies and researches on the conditions of children and mothers.

He pointed out that the government has instructed many field studies to get acquainted with the needs of children, mothers and families as well as the infrastructure necessities in the province of Saada.

Furthermore, he called on international organizations interested in the maternal and childhood field to support the domestic organizations because official efforts can't alone achieve stated goals in this regard.

For his part, Secretary General of the Islah Charity Organization Abdul Majeed Farhan stressed on the importance of analyzing the health conditions of children and mothers, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women, of the Saada displaced families because they were the most effected group by the war.

At the workshop, deputy representative of the UNICEF in Yemen Ann Phonsec, reviewed the role the UNICEF has been playing since 2005 in providing basic needs for the displaced people such as medicines, clothes, blankets, safe waters, cooking materials and school bags.

The UNICEF also trained the medics at the Saada Republican Hospital in the programs of community nutrition and opened a division at the hospital to treat children contracting malnutrition, in addition to building up the capacity of the hospital, Phonsec said.

The outcomes of the study revealed that 5000 families, most of whom were women and children, had fled the war in the areas of Hidan, Sahab and Majaz to other districts in the province, and currently live at 12 official and unofficial residential complexes.