One family’s daily struggle reflects alarming food shortages in Yemen

Nasr has no steady employment in Sanaa. He, his wife and five daughters often go to bed hungry.Published On 28 Jan 2026Sanaa, Yemen — Until a few years ago, Mehdi Galeb Nasr earned a living pushing an ice cream cart through the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, moving between neighbourhoods to support his family.His livelihood became impossible after his eyesight began to deteriorate rapidly. “Selling ice cream was my main source of income,” Nasr told Al Jazeera. “I pushed my cart, selling ice cream to children across the capital. Blindness in one of my eyes began to take its toll on me.”Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Yemen faces worst food crisis since 2022, aid group warnslist 2 of 4Yemen’s Saudi-backed government retakes southern areas from STC: What next?list 3 of 4Mapping who controls what in Yemen in 2026list 4 of 4Regained momentum sets Yemen government’s eyes on Houthis in the northend of listAs his vision worsened, he would get lost and was unable to find his way at night. “I couldn’t see. Sometimes I had to sleep outside until the sun came up so I could see my way home.”Now 52, Nasr lives with his wife and five daughters in Sanaa. With no steady employment and limited options due to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s most impoverished and conflict-ridden nations, he has no choice but to find other ways to make ends meet.His plight, and worse, is shared by many in Yemen.The country is entering a perilous new phase of food shortages with more than half the population – about 18 million people – expected to face worsening hunger in early 2026, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).The warning follows new projections under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification hunger-monitoring system that were released earlier this month and show an additional million people at risk of life-threatening hunger.It also comes as Yemen is experiencing its latest internal conflict with external regional actors involved in fighting in the nation’s south. Years of war and mass displacement have shattered livelihoods and limited access to basic health and nutrition services. Declining humanitarian funding, unpaid salaries, inflation and international sanctions on Yemen have exacerbated the crisis.