Amal is dead, the girl who became a symbol of war and famine in Yemen

CAIRO.- At the Age of Seven, Amal Hussain died, symbol of suffering
the war in Yemen., a conflict that has left the country with the biggest food crisis in the world today. The newspaper
The New York Times last week released a photo of the child on a hospital bed in the north of the country, his head resting on one side and an expression of hopeless resignation, reflecting the devastating situation experienced by civilians. in Yemen.

The image of the girl traveled the world and attracted the attention of thousands of readers who expressed their concern and offered their help. However, the family of Amal announced that the girl had died in a refugee camp.

"My heart is broken," said Mariam Ali, the mother of the girl who was chronically malnourished. "Amal has always smiled, now I'm worried about my other boys," the woman added, in tears.

At the same time, in a statement on the radio, photographer Tyler Hicks, captured the image of the minor. , tells how difficult and "heartbreaking" but at the same time "important" who photographed Amal. "It really sums up how tragic and serious the malnutrition and famine in Yemen are," the photographer said.

"Amal died of starvation, she was 7. Photo immortalized by the Tyler Hicks Pulitzer Prize, an image that moved the whole world, but which, as it often happens, has not brought about any change in his life and in that of more than 11 million Yemeni children who need immediate humanitarian badistance., said Andrea Iacomini, spokesman for Unicef ​​Italia.

Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries in the world, has been plunged for nearly four years into a violent power struggle between the government of Abdo Rabu Man On Hadi, supported by Saudi and Houthi rebels, supported by Iran

The serious human cost of the Saudi government's war in Yemen has taken a prominent place on the agenda world.
of the badbadination of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, who led Western leaders to reconsider their support for the war.

US
and Britain, the largest suppliers of weapons of


Saudi Arabia
They called for a ceasefire in Yemen. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said the measure should come into effect within 30 days. "We need to move towards a peace effort here, and we can not say we will do it in the future," said Mattis last Tuesday.

Heartbreaking images of Yemeni undernourished as Amal, one Of the 1.8 million severely malnourished children in Yemen, show one of the biggest fears that a man-made disaster will hit the country in the coming months. [19659013] The United Nations warns that the 8 million Yemenis who depend on emergency rations could soon reach 14 million. This is about half of the population of Yemen.

Famine

Lack of food, displacement, malnutrition, epidemics, and deteriorating health care dramatically affected the health and well-being of 1.1 million pregnant and lactating women who were undernourished

] Since March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Yemeni Houthi rebels, who overthrew the internationally recognized government.

Civilians were most affected by a conflict that cost the lives to more than 10,000 people and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. For the moment, the UN has not made progress in its efforts to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The shortage threatening Yemen, perhaps the worst of recent history, could kill hundreds of people. thousands of pregnant or badfeeding women who are badfeeding their newborn, all affected by malnutrition. "Lack of food, constant movement to escape hunger and violence, epidemics and lack of health care endanger the health and well-being of 1.1 million pregnant or lactating women, causing many births premature or low birth weight, "said the Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Luay Shabaneh.

In Yemen, about half of all health facilities stopped functioning, including diagnosis and reproductive health. Recently, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has shown how Yemen is currently developing the world's largest food crisis. According to UN estimates, more than 8.4 million people are hungry because of the war, a constant figure that could reach 14 million in the coming weeks.

AP and ANSA agencies and The New York Times newspaper