17.4 million Yemenis require assistance to get water, according to a post by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shared on X on the “World Water Day”, which takes place on March 22 of each year.
UNICEF emphasised that “17.4 million people in Yemen, half children, require assistance to access basic water and sanitation services.” Adding that, “we need to join forces to achieve SDG 6 of ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.
Yemen is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, according to previous UN reports.
Recently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the crisis in Yemen has left 4.5 million internally displaced, and 18.2 million people in need of aid.
It pointed out that there are about 70,000 refugees and asylum seekers hosted by the country.
The UNHCR stressed that there is a need for continued international aid for Yemen more than ever before.
For about two years now, Yemen has witnessed a lull in the war that began 9 years ago between forces loyal to the legitimate government, supported by an Arab military coalition led by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, and the Houthi forces supported by Iran, who have controlled governorates and cities, including Sanaa, since September 2014.
Until the end of 2021, the war resulted in the killing of 377,000 Yemenis, according to the United Nations, while causing the country’s economy to lose $126 billion, in one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world, as most of the population of 30 million depend on aid.
