About 15 Million Yemenis Suffer From Water Shortage Amid Fuel Crisis - Oxfam

About 15 Million Yemenis Suffer From Water Shortage Amid Fuel Crisis - Oxfam

About 15 million people in Yemen have experienced a water shortage since the price of fuel, needed for water filtering systems and trucks carrying safe water, rapidly increased, research by Oxfam, a UK-based confederation of charities for alleviating poverty, showed on Tuesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2019) About 15 million people in Yemen have experienced a water shortage since the price of fuel, needed for water filtering systems and trucks carrying safe water, rapidly increased, research by Oxfam, a UK-based confederation of charities for alleviating poverty, showed on Tuesday.

In September, the civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi movement and the Saudi-led coalition backed by the West led to a dramatic increase in fuel prices, which aggravated the humanitarian situation in Yemen. While petrol is needed for cars, it is also crucial for water pumps and trucks transporting major essentials such as safe water. As a result, many people who depend on water supplied by piped networks or trucked in by private companies were forced to considerably reduce their daily consumption.

"11 million people relying on water supplied by piped networks and four million people who depend on water trucked in by private companies have had to drastically reduce their daily consumption since fuel prices soared in September," Oxfam said.

According to the organization, central water systems in three major cities, Ibb, Dhamar and Al Mahwit, had to shut down completely. As a result, millions of Yemenis can potentially be exposed to such deadly diseases as cholera.

"This fuel crisis is affecting every area of people's lives but none more crucial than the lack of clean water. For millions of Yemenis already struggling to survive hunger and disease, clean water is a lifeline that is now being cut," Oxfam's Yemen Country Director, Muhsin Siddiquey, said.

Oxfam has since installed piped water systems to supply thousands of people with clean water, which is a matter of life and death in Yemen.

Fuel supplies are an ongoing problem in the middle Eastern country. However, the situation has escalated dramatically since the internationally recognized government imposed extra restrictions on imports last month. The Houthi authorities have also placed restrictions on imports.

The Oxfam director urges the parties to end the restrictions to ease the situation in Yemen, known as one of the most water-scarce countries in the world.

The country is experiencing one of the worst cholera outbreaks in recent history, as many people do not have access to clean water. Since April 2017, over two million suspected cases of cholera and over 3,700 deaths have been registered.