The health minister of the Houthi-led government based in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, Dr Taha Al-Mutawakkil, has said that the country needs at least 1,000 postnatal care units to save the lives of newborn babies, Al-Masirah has reported.

Mutawakkil made his remarks during the National Symposium on Maternal and Newborn Health. He pointed out that approximately 50,000 newborn children under the age of 28 days die every year as a result of the lack of postnatal care in the health sector.

The official added that there is a need for more health centres and medicine for treating the growing number of cases of trauma caused by the Saudi-led coalition’s air raids.

In December last year, Dr Al-Mutawakkil stated that 1,000 children were dying “on a daily basis” due to the “Saudi-led aggression and blockade” against Yemen.

He stressed then that “Yemen’s health sector is one of the most affected civil sectors by the Saudi-American aggression and the blockade.”

The war in Yemen has claimed the lives of over 100,000 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), which has been monitoring the conflict.

The war has also created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages.