Horrifying pictures of malnourished baby on brink of death that show the true scale of the Yemen food 'catastrophe'
- Over 10million people are starving in the Asian country
- High food prices leave man on death's door
- One in three children are severely malnourished
- Food problems add to the al-Qaeda threat in the unstable region
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Over 10 million people are thought to be starving in the war-torn country, which has been struggling with al-Qaeda terrorism as well as a lack of political stability.
As these painful pictures show, it is often a daily battle, especially for children, to survive as food supplies begin to run low.
Worrying: A doctor checks a three-month old severely malnourished baby at a therapeutic feeding center in Sana'a, Yemen
Help needed: Nearly a million children in Yemen are suffering from acute malnutrition, whilst right, this child is barely recognisable as human such is his malnutrition
The already poor are on the verge of death, the middle class now struggling to pay for life essentials, whilst the rich find it much easier to spend their money.
Speaking to The Business Recorder, Mustafa Nasr, the head of Yemen's Studies and Economic Media Centre, a non-governmental group said: 'Yemen is suffering from a serious economic meltdown that marks it as one of the 10 most food-insecure countries with the highest poverty rates in the world.'
Millions of people have exhausted their ways of coping, and cannot afford to buy enough food for their families, leaving many close to breaking point.
Yemen's political crisis last year increased hunger in the country as food and fuel prices surged. According to the UN, malnutrition rates in some parts of the country are alarming, with one in three children severely malnourished.
Weak: High food prices have left millions in Yemen struggling to survive day on day
Graphic: A Yemeni man sits on the ground as he waits for his malnourished child to receive treatment at a therapeutic feeding center
Yemen is heavily dependent on food imports; it is believed the region depends on outside imports for 90 per cent of its wheat.
Rising food prices, added to a lack of home-grown food reserves have put the Asian country in desperate trouble.
The worrying shortage of food is intrinsically linked to the rise of extremism within the country; people disillusioned with the government failing to sort the problems often turn to extremist groups such as the Ansar al-Sharia who offer alternatives with the promise of food.
It's certainly a vicious circle which in turn continues to lead to unrest in the region.
And as these pictures show there seems little in the way of a solution to this country's deepening crisis.
Hard road ahead: A malnourished child looks on as she waits for treatment
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196571/Yemen-crisis-Horrifying-pictures-true-scale-Yemen-food-catastrophe.html#ixzz25DrEmDUF
I would give my life right now for that baby.
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