The drug that is starving Yemen

YEMEN is on the brink of famine, say aid agencies, which often blame the civil war, Saudi Arabia’s blockade of northern seaports and its bombing of vital infrastructure. The government’s refusal to pay salaries to employees in rebel-held areas and the depreciation of Yemen’s riyal mean many cannot afford the food that is available. But one of the biggest causes of hunger often goes unmentioned: a leafy plant called qat.

The weed is Yemen’s most popular drug: 90% of men and over a third of women habitually chew its leaves, storing the masticated greenery in their cheek until the narcotic seeps into their bloodstream. In the past Yemenis might indulge once a week and the practice was largely confined to the north-west mountains, where qat grows. But following unification in 1990 it spread south. Now qat markets bustle all over the country.