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Save the children, save a generation

With half of the population under 18, the trauma of war is taking a particularly heavy toll on children.

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Children are the immediate victims of the conflict in Yemen. Not only are they starving, they have also been rendered homeless. The ongoing war has led to the death of hundreds of minors. Air strikes, shelling and crossfiring are the reasons behind the soaring number of casualties. It is a humanitarian disaster in the making in one of the poorest Arab countries in the region — and children are increasingly at the receiving end.

Rough estimates say more than 25 million people are living by chance in Yemen, as hunger, disease and an ever-present fear of death keep them on the edge. Despite calls from the United Nations and international aid agencies, little has been done to protect children from the effects of warfare — they have literally being abandoned.

With half of the population under 18, the trauma of war is taking a particularly heavy toll on children. Those who manage to survive shrapnel and bruises are left in a vegetative state and there is hardly any medical aid available to these victims.

The plight of children in the war-weary country should not be left unaddressed any longer. The embattled administration in Yemen and other regional countries should pause for a moment and map a way out of the crisis. Protecting the children and shielding them from the adverse impact of war is important. What is needed is an immediate ceasefire. If we don’t save Yemen and its youth before it is too late, we would have lost a generation.

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