Yemen's Coast Faces Rising Malnutrition

(16 Sep 2016) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus063132 VOICE-OVER SCRIPT: FIVE-YEAR-OLD SALEM SITS ON A HOSPITAL BED IN HODEIDAH, YEMEN, SURROUNDED BY CHILDREN, WHO LIKE HIM, BEAR THE SIGNS OF PROLONGED HUNGER. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Adeed Mohamed, Salem's mother: "From the day I gave birth to my child till now we are suffering from hunger and torture and his condition is not stable." THE ONGOING WAR IN YEMEN HAS MADE IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR SALEM'S FAMILY TO PROVIDE FOR HIM. EVEN BEFORE THE WAR, HODEIDAH WAS ONE OF THE POOREST CITIES IN YEMEN, THE ARAB WORLD'S MOST IMPOVERISHED NATION. NOW, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PORT CITY'S FISHING BOATS AND INFRASTRUCTURE BY SAUDI-LED COALITION AIRSTRIKES HAS DEPRIVED THE TOWNSPEOPLE OF THEIR PRIME LIVELIHOOD. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Awsan Al-Ibsi, pediatrician at the Malnutrition Ward of Thawra Hospital in Hodeidah: "The children with malnutrition, the number of their cases has increased and so the instance of relapses where they return to us has also increased in the past period, especially with the beginning of the Saudi offensive on Yemen." THE U-N ESTIMATES THAT ABOUT 100,000 CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE IN THE CITY AND SURROUNDING PROVINCE ARE AT RISK FOR SEVERE MALNUTRITION. LESS THAN 60 MILES FROM HODEIDAH, FAMILIES IN A SMALL VILLAGE HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES, LIVING WITHOUT PROPER SANITATION CAUSING ADDITIONAL MEDICAL ISSUES. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khaled Ahayef, doctor and head of the health office in the Tahayta area of Hodeidah: "They are suffering from sicknesses such as diarrhea due to their environment, which is desert areas and entirely exposed. They don't have toilets so they are sick with diarrhea and they need humanitarian assistance urgently." THE CONFLICT HAS LEFT SOME 10,000 PEOPLE DEAD OR INJURED, 3 MILLION DISPLACED, AND MORE THAN HALF OF THE 26 MILLION POPULATION ARE FOOD INSECURE. MATTHEW BURGOYNE, ASSOCIATED PRESS Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...