Nearly half a million children in Yemen have dropped out of school following the escalation of the war in the country in March 2015, bringing the total number of out-of-school children to two million, Unicef said in a report released today.
Nearly three-quarters of public school teachers have not been paid for more than a year, putting the education of an additional 4,5 million children at great risk, according to Unicef.
"An entire generation of children in Yemen is facing a bleak future due to limited or non-existent access to education," said Meritxel Relano, Unicef's representative in Yemen.
According to the If Not In School report, more than 2.500 schools are out of order, two-thirds of which have been damaged by attacks. 27% of schools are closed and 7% are used for military purposes or as a shelter for the displaced. The report also highlights the dangers that children face on the way to school due to the conflicts.
Lack of access to education has pushed children and their families to dangerous alternatives, including early marriage, child labor and the recruitment of children as fighters.
Unicef cites other worrying numbers:
- at least 2.419 children have been recruited and participated in fighting since March 2015.
- A survey conducted in 2016 in ten Yemeni provinces revealed that almost three quarters of women were forced to marry before the age of 18, while almost half before the age of 15.
- 78% of Yemenis live in poverty.
- 1,8 million children under the age of 5 and 1,1 million pregnant or breastfeeding women suffer from acute malnutrition, an increase of 128% compared to the end of 2014.
- 16 million Yemenis, including almost 8,2 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance.