Yemen is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. But the situation has spiraled since 2015, when Yemen descended into civil war. Since then, the warring parties have weaponized water – making clean, affordable water nearly impossible for some people to access.
Here’s how.
Houthi fighters and the Yemeni government, parties to the conflict, have split control of the Taizz governorate in western Yemen. Since laying siege to the area in 2015, Houthis blocked water from flowing into the Yemeni government-controlled Taizz city. Meanwhile, Yemeni government-affiliated military forces sell public water supplies to the local population for a profit.
Additionally, Saudi and UAE-led coalition forces, intervening on behalf of the Yemeni government, have conducted airstrikes on water infrastructure throughout the country, including in Taizz.
When water is used as a weapon of war, civilians suffer. And in Yemen, the stakes were already high.
According to the UN, 15.3 million Yemenis – more than half the population – do not have access to sufficient, safe, and acceptable water for personal and domestic uses, including drinking, cooking, and sanitation.
Human Rights Watch found that only 21 of 88 wells linked with Taizz’s public water supply network are operational. Residents are forced to rely on the very limited water still entering the public water network, rainwater harvesting, water provided by nongovernmental groups, and water they purchase from water trucks or from private wells.
The shortage of safe, sufficient drinking water and the lack of adequate sanitation has also contributed to the spread of water-borne illnesses and disease, leading to a 2017 cholera outbreak in Taizz that killed over 2,000 people.
Yemen’s warring parties could restore peoples’ essential right to water and put an end to the crisis right now. The future of water infrastructure in the area depends on it.
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