At least 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 could die of starvation this year - UN agencies
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DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 could die of starvation this year without urgent intervention amid soaring rates of severe malnutrition driven by war and the coronavirus pandemic, four U.N. agencies said on Friday.
The warnings come nearly six years after the outbreak of war that rendered 80% of the population reliant on humanitarian aid.
In a report published on Friday, the agencies projected a 22% increase in severe acute malnutrition among children under 5 in Yemen, compared to 2020.
Severe acute malnutrition means there is a risk of death from lack of food. Aden, Hodeidah, Taiz and Sanaa are among the worst-hit areas, the report said.
“These numbers are yet another cry for help from Yemen where each malnourished child also means a family struggling to survive,” World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley said in a joint statement with the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO), UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Another 2.3 million under 5s are expected to suffer acute malnutrition in 2021. Acute malnutrition among young children and mothers in Yemen has increased with each year of the conflict, they said, driven by the high rates of disease and rising rates of food insecurity.
Around 1.2 million pregnant or breastfeeding women are projected to be acutely malnourished this year.
Famine has never been officially declared in Yemen. The U.N. says the country is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Along with conflict, economic decline and the pandemic, a shortfall of donations last year is also contributing to the worsening humanitarian crisis.
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Unemployed class 10 passouts in Bengal to get Rs 1,500 allowance from March 7: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): Ahead of the assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that from Saturday unemployed young job seekers, having passed secondary examination (class 10), will receive Rs 1,500 allowance every month to help them move towards a self-reliant future.
The TMC supremo made this announcement - on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8 - during her speech at the sit-in against large-scale deletion of names of voters by the Election Commission during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll exercise.
She said young men and women - aged 21–40 years - who have passed the secondary exams - will receive Rs 1,500 per month from March 7. Bannerjee said while the assistance was originally scheduled to begin in April, it will now start immediately.
"In the case of Yuva Sathi, all those who are still studying and are not beneficiaries of any schemes other than scholarships will receive the amount. We had earlier stated that the money would be given on April 1. But since tomorrow is International Women's Day, as a gift, we have changed the payment date from April 1 to today (March 7)," she said.
All those aged between 21 and 40 years, numbering around 1 crore people, have applied for this scheme, she said, pointing out these are people who are not beneficiaries of any other schemes except scholarships.
Claiming that her government has generated employment opportunities to a great extent, Banerjee said, "The unemployment rate in Bengal has decreased by 40 per cent. We have provided skill training to at least 40 lakh people, out of which around 10 lakh are already employed.
"This has also happened because we have linked the websites of industrialists with those who have received skill training through Utkarsha Bangla. If migrant workers are interested, they will also be given opportunities. Recently, I heard that around 10,000 people are being trained in the jute industry, and they will also be absorbed into jobs," she said.
The CM said the state is giving Rs 10,000 to farmers every month.
"Even those with just one cottah of land used to receive Rs 4,000 earlier. Now we have also announced Rs 4,000 for landless farmers," she said.
Banerjee said in Bengal, six economic corridors are being constructed to connect the entire state.
"Apart from that, two power plants of 1,600 megawatts (800 megawatts each) are being built in Salboni. We are also number one in IT. More people are employed here than in Bengaluru. Around 200 new companies have also come here.
"Those who defame the state should know that we are number one in small and medium-scale industries. Around 1.5 crore people work in small-scale industries. Units from across the country have come here. In Bengal's leather hub in Bantala, at least 7.5 lakh people work there. Our self-help group women are doing really well. We have created around 12 lakh self-help groups," she said.
Banerjee said around one lakh people will be employed in the large coal reserve in Deucha Pachami in Birbhum district and for the next 100 years, there will be no power cuts in the state.
Bengal's GSDP is the highest even after "repaying Rs 6 lakh crore of debt and paying interest on it and despite Rs 2 lakh crore of central funds still pending," the CM said.
"From GSDP to revenue generation, we are the highest," she claimed.
