Newborn twins fight for survival as conflict fuels Yemen's hunger crisis

Severe acute malnutrition is an extreme lack of nourishment that causes dangerous wasting. A child loses body fat and muscle, becomes weak, and may struggle to fight infections or maintain normal body functions. It matters because the condition can become fatal without urgent treatment.

Raad, one of the twins, had visible ribs, sunken cheeks, and rapid, shallow breathing. He could barely keep fortified milk down. Doctors diagnosed both twins with severe acute malnutrition after their family reached al-Sadaqah hospital in Aden.

The condition becomes especially deadly during war. Food prices rose, so the twins were sometimes given only water. Their family had also spent three days walking after fleeing bombs and attacks. The hospital lacked enough staff, equipment, oxygen bottles, and laboratory services, making survival even harder.

When Houthi fighters reached the family’s village in Yemen’s Kahboub mountains, the family of seven had to flee. The twins, Raghad Hassan and Raad, were only seven weeks old and had been born prematurely as the fighting intensified. Their family left with little protection, carrying the babies under blankets.

The family spent three days walking toward Aden because they could not find transport. Their father, Bajash Ali Sagir Hassan, said people refused to help until one person brought them onward on the fourth day. Their mother, Lina, said the twins became exhausted in the cold and dust, while vomiting and diarrhoea worsened.

At al-Sadaqah hospital, the twins were severely wasted. Raad was in worse condition, with visible ribs and shallow breathing. The family had become newly homeless, and rising baby-milk prices meant they sometimes fed the twins only water.

The collapse of an informal ceasefire worsened Yemen’s humanitarian emergency. The United Nations said around 800,000 people could no longer receive lifesaving aid. More than 250,000 people had also been displaced by the renewed fighting.

Those numbers show how conflict damages survival far beyond the battlefield. Displacement removes families from homes, livelihoods, and familiar services. Losing aid cuts off food and medical support at the moment when people need it most. The twins’ family was among those forced to flee.

The crisis was still expanding. The Houthis advanced along the Red Sea coast and completely cut off Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city. The UN said civilians there faced grave risk and lacked food as prices soared. The article also notes that half a million Yemeni children were expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition that year.

Conflict can turn an ordinary shortage into a medical emergency. When food prices rise, parents may reduce meals or replace nutritious milk with water. Displacement also exposes children to cold, dust, diarrhoea, and vomiting. Without reliable hospitals, medicines, or other support, their bodies become too weak to recover.

The twins were fed twice daily, but their father sometimes could provide only water because war had increased the price of baby milk. At al-Sadaqah hospital, doctors treated severe acute malnutrition, yet lacked ventilation machines, oxygen bottles, staff, equipment, and many laboratory services.

The consequences continue after discharge. Dr Noor Mohammed said some children return the same day, after two days, or within a week. Their parents cannot afford proper nutrition, vitamins, antibiotics, or private care. The hospital therefore becomes part of a repeating cycle of illness, temporary treatment, and renewed malnutrition.

Yemen’s conflict involves Houthi rebel fighters and the internationally recognised government. The government is fighting back with help from Saudi air strikes. Their military actions have pushed civilians into displacement, hunger, and dangerous gaps in medical care.

The Houthis made a lightning advance along the Red Sea coast and completely cut off Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city. The United Nations said civilians there were at grave risk. People were also struggling to obtain food because prices had soared. The twins’ family experienced a related consequence when fighting reached their village and forced them to flee.

Civilians remain caught between military offensives and the collapse of basic support. Families lose homes and income, while hospitals face shortages of funding, staff, equipment, and medicines. The article describes malnutrition as another frontline of the civil war, showing how battlefield movement can directly threaten children’s survival.

A hospital’s bed count is not the same as its treatment capacity. Beds require nurses, doctors, medicines, equipment, oxygen, and funding. If those essentials are missing, a hospital may have space but still be unable to safely admit more patients.

At al-Sadaqah hospital, the malnutrition unit had 22 beds, but staff admitted only 13 patients at a time. They selected the most critical cases because international funding, staff, and equipment were lacking. Some doors were padlocked. When no second bed could be found for the twins, supervising nurse Aisha Ragab arranged for them to share one.

This means children may be turned away even while beds appear unused. Dr Noor Mohammed said patients were lost because of the conditions. Without stronger support, hospitals cannot expand care when conflict sends more malnourished children through their doors.

War turns food insecurity into a repeating health crisis by damaging both income and access to care. Families flee their homes, lose livelihoods, and face higher prices. Hospitals may stabilize a child, but recovery cannot last if the family cannot provide enough nutritious food, vitamins, or antibiotics afterward.

Dr Noor Mohammed described children returning after a week, two days, or even the same day. Their parents came because they had no money or insurance and could not afford private hospitals. The malnutrition unit treated one child while another arrived, creating a conveyor belt of suffering.

This cycle also threatens hospitals. Repeated admissions consume scarce beds, staff time, medicine, and equipment. The article says half a million Yemeni children were expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition that year. Unless families can obtain food and basic treatment, hospital care alone cannot break the crisis.