20 December 2016, 17:34 GMT
TOKYO (Sputnik) — The Japanese United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) aid package will be used to fund two projects aimed at improving children's healthcare, food and education, the NHK channel reported on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by Japanese UN Ambassador Koro Bessho and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on Wednesday.
The money will be used to improve the lives of some 600,000 Yemeni children, Lake said, as quoted by the broadcaster.
In January 2016, the United Nations reported 500,000 children were in danger of dying from malnutrition, while another 8.3 million children could not access health services.
Yemen's civil war between the internationally recognized Aden-based government and the Houthi movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh erupted in March 2015. A Saudi-led coalition of Persian Gulf countries intervened the same month and has since been criticized for hitting civilians, causing disproportional child casualties and damaging vital non-military infrastructure.
