At least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen. That’s the conclusion of a report just published by the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF. The report also found that there has been a 200 percent increase since 2014 in children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, with almost half a million affected. Nearly 2.2 million children are in need of urgent care.

This comes as the country’s health system is on the verge of collapse, in part due to the ongoing U.S.-backed Saudi bombing of Yemen. Since the bombing began in March 2015, more than 10,000 people have died and 3 million have been displaced in the conflict. The U.S. has been a major backer of Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign.

In 2015 alone, the United States approved more than $20 billion in military sales to Saudi Arabia. U.S.-made munitions have repeatedly been found at the scene of Saudi-led bombings where civilians have been killed. Award-winning journalist Iona Craig offers more information. She was based in Sana’a from 2010 to 2015 as the Yemen correspondent for The Times of London.

Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

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