Houthi anti-vaccination propaganda kills Yemeni children

A measles outbreak in Yemen has killed 77 children and infected nearly 10,000 people since January, primarily in provinces of northern Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported in its monthly Humanitarian Updates that measles, diphtheria, and pertussis — whooping cough — have been on the rise in the country since 2019 and that 22,000 measles cases, including 161 deaths, were reported in 2022.

Over the past three months, 9,418 cases of measles, including 77 child fatalities, have been reported across the nation, and the number is expected to rise.

“In Yemen, 228 children have been paralyzed since 2021 by the ongoing polio outbreak. Eliminated in nearly all other parts of the world and on its way to global eradication, the poliovirus case count in Yemen is expected to rise,” the OCHA said.

Without naming the Houthis, the UN body stated that the Yemeni militia’s resistance to the distribution of vaccines or vaccination campaigns in areas under their control, as well as their anti-vaccination media campaign, is a major driving force behind the surge in measles, polio, and other diseases among Yemeni children.

The Houthis spread content on social media, YouTube, television, and radio that questioned vaccination efficacy in safeguarding children’s health and urged parents not to vaccinate their children.

According to the UN, the Houthi media campaign also swayed residents in government-controlled southern Yemen, where parents rejected jabs, fuelling measles infections.