Half of children under the age of five in Yemen are malnourished, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, underscoring how a decade of conflict has been catastrophic for the country's young population. The decade-long conflict has devastated the country's economy, healthcare system, and infrastructure, leaving more than half of the population reliant on humanitarian aid to survive, Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative to Yemen, said via a video link from Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, at a press briefing on the situation for children in Yemen after 10 years of conflict. He warned that the country is registering a staggeringly high child malnutrition rate, while mothers and expecting mothers face similar challenges. "One in two children under the age of five are malnourished in Yemen today. This is a statistic that is almost unparalleled across the world. Among them are over 540,000 girls and boys who are severely and acutely malnourished. Equally alarming are the 1.4 million pregnant and lactating women who are malnourished," said Hawkins. He added that severe and acute malnutrition rates of 33 percent have been recorded in certain areas including the west of the country. Yemen's conflict entered its second decade in 2024 since the Houthis stormed Sanaa on September 21, 2014, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. SHOTLIST: FILE: Geneva, Switzerland - 2019 1. Various of United Nations flag; Palais des Nations; flags of United Nations members; FILE: Geneva, Switzerland - Date Unknown 2. Various of United Nations Office at Geneva; FILE: Yemen - July 2023 3. Various of destroyed houses, rubble, residents; FILE: Hajjah, Yemen - July 2023 4. Aerial shot of camp; 5. Various of displaced people, tents. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]