UNICEF UK Ambassador \Martin Bell says children are the worst victims of acute crisis in Yemen

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AL-MAZRAQ, Yemen, 31 August 2010 â?? UNICEF UK Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies Martin Bell witnessed the horrifying impact of conflict on children when he visited northern Yemen recently. Fighting between government and rebel forces has raged in the region for several years, displacing thousands of families. The former BBC journalist and parliamentarian â?? who has travelled to some of the world's most difficult and dangerous places championing child rights â?? hadaccess to many areas in Yemen, including camps for people displaced by the conflict. On his six-day visit, Mr. Bell travelled almost 2,000 km to five governorates in order to see how UNICEF is supporting efforts by the government to improve children's lives. Raising awareness "The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is acute, even by the standards of other countries that I have visited in conflict or post-conflict situations," he said. "I have been impressed by the work being done by UNICEF and its partner agencies, as well as by the Yemeni people themselves. But much more has to be done, especially to meet the needs of the children who are the country's future." Mr. Bell pledged to raise awareness about the crisis facing these children when he returned to the United Kingdom. His reporting on Yemen for the ITV network was broadcast on 27 August, and a personal account of his trip was published in the Daily Mail's 'Live' magazine this past Sunday. Mr. Bell's visit was "a critical opportunity to demonstrate the efforts being made by the government and development partners in addressing the basic needs of the children," noted UNICEF Representative in Yemen Geert Cappelaere. 'Time for a concerted effort' "My trip to Yemen has shown me that aid agencies like UNICEF are in the best position to assist children in emergencies," said Mr. Bell, "because they don't just fly in when the crisis strikes or media arrive. They work across the world, year in year out, supporting children in countries before, during and after humanitarian crises happen." Referring to the ongoing conflict in Yemen and the massive flood crisis now occurring in Pakistan, he concluded: "It is time for a concerted effort to help children in Yemen as well as in Pakistan. Both have suffered too much already." var emailarticleloc = location.href; emailarticleloc = emailarticleloc.replace("http://www.unicef.org",""); emailarticleloc = emailarticleloc.replace("http://unicef.org",""); var emailarticle = "Email this article "; document.write(emailarticle); Email this article //var pageURL = encodeURIComponent("http://www.unicef.org/emerg/yemen_55834.html"); var pageURL = encodeURIComponent(location.href); var pageTitle = ''; pageTitle = encodeURIComponent("UNICEF UK Ambassador Martin Bell says children are worst victims of Yemen crisis").replace(/'/g,'%27'); var pageBlurb = encodeURIComponent(("AL-MAZRAQ, Yemen, 31 August 2010 – UNICEF UK Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies Martin Bell witnessed the horrifying impact of conflict on children when he visited northern Yemen recently. 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Fighting between government and rebel forces has raged in the region for several years, displacing thousands of families. n"+ "n"+ " return s; } BLOGTHIS.addentry({ id: 'blog2', oclass: 'blog', linkID: 'bloglink2', linkClass: 'bloglink', linkText: 'Blog This Article', wid: 'blogbox2', wclass: 'blogbox', offsetTop: '-465', offsetLeft: '-185', transition: 'b', html: createBlogBox('blog2') }); //Create your sharelet with desired properties and set button element to false var object = SHARETHIS.addEntry({}, {button:false, offsetLeft:-150, offsetTop:-300}); //Output your customized button document.write("ShareThis "); //Tie customized button to ShareThis button functionality. var element = document.getElementById("sharethis2"); object.attachButton(element); var fblikeloc = location.href; fblikeloc = encodeURIComponent(fblikeloc); var fblikeframe = " "; document.write(fblikeframe); function getPageMeta() { var modDate = "2010-08-31"; modDate = modDate.split("-"); var month = "January"; switch (parseFloat(modDate[1])) { case 1: month = "January"; break; case 2: month = "February"; break; case 3: month = "March"; break; case 4: month = "April"; break; case 5: month = "May"; break; case 6: month = "June"; break; case 7: month = "July"; break; case 8: month = "August"; break; case 9: month = "September"; break; case 10: month = "October"; break; case 11: month = "November"; break; case 12: month = "December"; break; default: month = "January"; break; } return parseFloat(modDate[2]) + " " + month + " " + modDate[0]; } document.write("Updated: "+ getPageMeta() +""); UNICEF Background information Briefings Yemen clashes - [Who works where] Topics Children Statistics graphs Refugees residing here (2008) View more stats Related articles Breaking stories Middle East FACTBOX-Security developments in Yemen Source: Reuters "); document.getElementById("timediff").id ="timediff"+div_ID; update_timediff_span("timediff"+div_ID,'2010-09-10 14:13:34'); div_ID++; --> Source: Reuters (1 minute ago) Africa KENYA: Musa,* "When the results came back we didn't think they could be true" Source: IRIN "); document.getElementById("timediff").id ="timediff"+div_ID; update_timediff_span("timediff"+div_ID,'2010-09-10 08:22:20'); div_ID++; --> Source: IRIN (1 minute ago) AlertNet insight Africa Bad governance stops Africa cutting child mortality - report Author: George Fominyen "); document.getElementById("timediff").id ="timediff"+div_ID; update_timediff_span("timediff"+div_ID,'2010-09-10 14:43:00'); div_ID++; --> Author: George Fominyen (1 minute ago) Aid agency news feed Asia Back to school in flood-hit China Source: Plan UK "); document.getElementById("timediff").id ="timediff"+div_ID; update_timediff_span("timediff"+div_ID,'2010-09-10 11:44:00'); div_ID++; --> Source: Plan UK (1 minute ago) Blogs Americas Why aid agencies must remember Haiti's disabled Author: Women's Refugee Commission "); document.getElementById("timediff").id ="timediff"+div_ID; update_timediff_span("timediff"+div_ID,'2010-09-09 15:12:00'); div_ID++; --> Author: Women's Refugee Commission (1 minute ago) Maps Americas GLOBAL poverty distribution - infant mortality as poverty indicator Source: UNEP "); document.getElementById("timediff").id ="timediff"+div_ID; update_timediff_span("timediff"+div_ID,'2008-10-09 11:06:00'); div_ID++; --> Source: UNEP (1 minute ago) Â? 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