The famine and cholera epidemic (>500 deaths) in Yemen are part of the acute news coming from this, the poorest of the Arab countries. As we have said, few outside Yemen have much interest, The UN has so far failed to raise the funds needed to stave off the famine.
But what about the chronic or longterm effects of the famine? Animal studies have demonstrated that early malnutrition lessens ultimate brain size. While it is difficult to extrapolate these data to humans, the effects of malnutrition to the degree seen in Yemen may have considerable longterm effects on the society in terms of the cognitive development of children. Will the effects be discernible twenty years from now? No one knows. Will Yemen ever really recover?
