Some facts about the Middle-East

YEMEN

If Egypt is a train smash waiting to happen, in Yemen it’s happening.

This quote from the website of the World Food Program says it all:

“Abdo is a father to 15 children; only his young son Majed attends school. The children are barefoot and wear tattered clothes. The family relies on the limited income brought in by casual wage labour and some minor agricultural production. It is barely enough to feed the family, and Abdo must borrow from neighbours and shops in order to secure some basic needs for survival. Due to the extreme heat, the family spends their days and nights outside.

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“Nearby, one of Abdo’s wives – Saeed Hassan – mixes borrowed flour with water from a local well and bakes the mix in a traditional Yemeni wood-fired oven dug into the dirt. They will eat this bread for all three meals. It is the only thing keeping the family alive. "I am extremely sad that I cannot give my children more,” she says, shaking her head sadly as she kneads the dough. "As a child I was able to go to school, and I am very sad that my children, my daughters do not have the same opportunity. One wants a better life for their children, not this," she says and looks tearfully off into the distance.

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“WFP recently launched an operation to address life-threatening levels of hunger and malnutrition, including an emergency food safety net for 1.7 million severely food insecure Yemenis during the hunger season. Nutrition support is planned for 242,000 malnourished pregnant and nursing mothers and children in order to address the inter-generational cycle of malnutrition, treat and prevent acute malnutrition, and provide an incentive to visit health centres.

“Today, the operation is at a standstill for utter lack of funds.

“Abdo and his family have already lost seven children to hunger-related diseases. He has two more newborns on the way. Without increased support, the lives of his soon-to-be born infants and 15 remaining children hang in the balance.”

Yemen’s population of 24 million is increasing at a rate of 2.6% per year. It has one of the highest human fertility rates in the world.

Yemen’s disintegration looks inevitable. Is Yemen a glimpse into Egypt’s future?