The famine is worsening in war-torn Yemen. The number of children under five years old suffering from acute malnutrition in government-controlled areas has increased by 34 percent compared to last year, according to the UN's children's organization Unicef.
Over 600,000 children are currently affected, of which 120,000 are classified as severely malnourished.
Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating conflict since 2014 between the internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed militant Houthi movement. The war has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, in a country that was already the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula before the conflict.
"The sharp increase is caused by a combined effect of disease outbreaks (cholera and measles), limited access to food and clean drinking water, and economic downturn," notes Unicef.
The statistics on famine come from 117 different government-controlled districts in Yemen, and therefore do not cover the equally serious situation in Houthi-controlled areas.
