Taiz faces worsening humanitarian crisis with water cutoffs and supply disruptions

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen's Taiz governorate is worsening as water, food, and fuel supplies are disrupted due to fighting and movement restrictions. The World Food Programme warned that aid cannot reach over 600,000 people. Families have been forced to ration drinking water after fuel needed to operate pumps was cut off, and waste has accumulated in the streets.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen's Taiz governorate is worsening as water, food, and fuel supplies are disrupted due to fighting and movement restrictions. The World Food Programme warned that aid cannot reach over 600,000 people, amid fears of disease outbreaks. Families in Taiz city and its surroundings have been forced to ration drinking water, after clashes and movement restrictions disrupted the fuel needed to operate water pumps. Waste has accumulated in the streets due to sanitation workers being unable to reach the main landfill. Reuters quoted the director of the Water and Sanitation Corporation in the governorate, Wathiq al-Aghbari, that restrictions on access to the al-Dhabab basin, a key source of water transported by tankers, exacerbated the supply crisis alongside difficulties in operating pumps. According to Save the Children, water production in Taiz has dropped by about 50%, increasing pressure on residents who already face high costs for obtaining transported water.