A three-year project to contribute to poverty reduction and increased food security among rural households in Yemen has been launched by the Ministry of Public Health & Population (MoPHP), in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union and UNICEF. The 5.8 million Euro project aims to prevent and mitigate malnutrition among children under five and pregnant and lactating mothers. The European Union has provided EUR 4.8 million and UNICEF will contribute the remainder.

“This project addresses the problem of acute malnutrition, which is chronic among children under five in Yemen,” said Yemen’s Minister of Health, Dr. Abdul Karim Yehia Rasae. “We will work to build the capacity of doctors, health workers and community volunteers to detect and treat malnutrition.”

The project will work to strengthen capacities at central and governorate levels in the management of nutrition programmes, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding, improve complementary feeding practices and expand services for the treatment of moderate and severe acute malnutrition.

“No child should bear the consequences of malnutrition,” said Michele Cervone d’Urso, Ambassador of the European Union to Yemen, “but in Yemen, too many children are already suffering and many more are at risk. This project aims to address that. The EU contribution to this project is part of a sustained support for the food security sector in Yemen, which has exceeded EUR 50 million."

“Malnutrition is one of the main underlying causes of death for children in Yemen,” said UNICEF Representative Geert Cappelaere. “Therefore it is essential to address it at multiple levels, including supporting household food security, changing existing feeding practices and providing minimum basic health and nutrition services.”
UNICEF will be responsible for coordination and implementation of the project, in close collaboration with the MoPHP.