75% of Yemen's Population Live Without Water, Sanitation Services

A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)
A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)
TT

75% of Yemen's Population Live Without Water, Sanitation Services

A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)
A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)

Houthi group continues to obstruct peace efforts and push towards an unprecedented exacerbation of the humanitarian situation, despite warnings of the international relief organizations, which confirmed that three-quarters of the population would have no access to water and sanitation services over the next year.

A joint methodological note on the conditions of water and sanitation services explained how the number of People in Need (PIN) of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) assistance and the WASH Severity Scores for each district in Yemen would be calculated for the 2023 Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO).

The organizations pointed out that Yemen has been the world's worst humanitarian crisis during the past five years, and the humanitarian situation remains critical as the country enters its eighth year of the war.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen remains critical, with economic decline and protracted armed conflict causing many Yemenis to need assistance.

The conflict has further aggravated the country's underlying food insecurity while compromising essential services and infrastructure, including health and education, and significantly damaging the economy and the social fabric.

The joint note stated that Yemen remained the sixth largest internal displacement crisis globally, with an IDP population of over 4.3 million.

In the 2022 HNO, the Yemen WASH Cluster (YWC) reported an increase from 2021 in the number of people in need of support to meet their WASH needs by 16 percent (17.8 million people in need), while the number of people in acute needs increased by 28.7 percent (11.2 million people in acute need).

According to these numbers, less than a quarter of the population has access to safe WASH services.

The note warned that despite these pressing needs, global funding has fallen short of meeting all required budget for WASH by $2.7 billion, stressing the need to identify and prioritize the communities most in need and determining their vulnerabilities and risks.

To understand the WASH needs, risks, and vulnerabilities of the population in Yemen, the 2023 HNO assesses WASH-related indicators across all districts in Yemen.

The YWC has partnered with REACH to produce an analysis of these indicators to determine the number of populations in need, and the severity of needs, by demographic group and geographic location.

The document outlines using indicators and resources for informing the HNO, building these indicators, scaling the severity of needs, and calculating the number of populations in need.



UN: Almost No Food Has Reached Northern Gaza for More than 40 Days Because of Israeli Siege

 Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip walk on the main Salah al-Din road on November 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas . (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip walk on the main Salah al-Din road on November 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas . (AFP)
TT

UN: Almost No Food Has Reached Northern Gaza for More than 40 Days Because of Israeli Siege

 Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip walk on the main Salah al-Din road on November 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas . (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip walk on the main Salah al-Din road on November 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas . (AFP)

The UN humanitarian office says thousands of Palestinians in areas of northern Gaza under siege by Israeli forces are struggling to stay alive because there have been virtually no food or humanitarian aid deliveries for more than 40 days.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric delivered the grim report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs known as OCHA on Tuesday.

“OCHA reports that all attempts by the UN to support people in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and parts of Jabaliya – all of which remain under siege – have been either denied or impeded,” he said.

So far in November, Dujarric said OCHA reports that 27 out of 31 planned humanitarian missions were rejected by Israel and the other four were severely impeded. That means they were prevented from accomplishing all the critical work they set out to do, he said.

“The result is that bakeries and kitchens in North Gaza governorate have shut down, nutrition support has been suspended, and the refueling of water and sanitation facilities has been completely blocked,” Dujarric said.

An Israeli ground and air offensive in the north has severely restricting access to its three hospitals which are desperately short of medical supplies, blood and fuel, he said.

Israel blocked attempts by UN partners to send in an international emergency medical team to help, he said.

On Sunday, Dujarric said, OCHA supported a mission led by the UN World Health Organization that was able to deliver 10,000 liters of fuel to Kamal Adwan Hospital and transfer some 17 patients, three unaccompanied children and nearly two dozen caregivers to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Food and medical supplies were also supposed to be delivered to Kamal Adwan but Dujarric said, “our partners say the team was forced to offload the food at an Israeli military checkpoint before reaching the hospital, and only some of the medical supplies could be delivered to the facility.”

Asked whether the UN believes Israel is trying to force the estimated 75,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south by denying the aid deliveries, Dujarric replied: “I can’t speak to the intentions of the Israeli government and the Israeli policy. We’re just seeing the result of it and trying to deal with it.”