Yemen, a starving nation (2010)
In 2010, Yemen faced a "Triple F" crisis: soaring food prices, plunging fuel revenues and financial turmoil. This report looks at hungry children and families and asks what will become of the country if the international community does not act fast.
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Hungry children
Nearly half of Yemeni children under five are underweight. Some 58% grow up stunted because their diet is so limited.
"Our daily life is not ok," says Mariam, who struggles every day to find enough to feed her family. Until recently, a UN programme gave families wheat in return for sending their girls to school. But the funding was cut, and now the girls must work or go hungry.
A crisis the world overlooks
The West knows Yemen's reputation as a haven for Al-Qaeda, but what does it know of the human suffering?
"The government of Yemen, at the risk of seeing its people die of hunger, refused to issue an appeal on account of national pride," says the economist Aryani. He explains that those in power are turning their backs on the growing number of hungry and poor people.
Decades of development work have been wiped out by the "Triple F" crisis: soaring food prices, plunging fuel revenues, and a financial crisis that has dried up the money sent home by Yemenis abroad.
Giancarlo Cirri of the World Food Programme warns about the tense political situation: "The destabilising role of hunger should not be underestimated."
A third of Yemen's 23 million people are now desperate for food. Aid is urgently needed to stop this deadly spiral into poverty.
The report is by Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand.
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