Life and Death for Yemen’s Children

With the war in Yemen now in its fifth year the United Nations is warning that 80% of the population – some 24 million people – need some form of humanitarian aid, and nearly 10 million people are “just a step away from famine”. Medical services in the country are on the brink of collapse, and the UN says a child under five dies every 10 minutes, from preventable causes.

The country is divided by a fierce civil war between the internationally recognised government – backed by a Saudi led coalition – and the Houthi rebel movement – allied with Iran.

Many sick children have been trapped in the capital Sana’a by a Saudi ban on civilian flights. The BBC’s international correspondent Orla Guerin has been following the story of a girl and a boy in urgent need of medical evacuation. She reports now from Amman, Jordan. First broadcast: 01/04/2019