USAID is helping address the underlying issues of water management and lack of access to safe water and sanitation in Yemen.
Yemen is suffering the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, exacerbated by the ongoing civil war. USAID development assistance in Yemen bridges the relief-to-development continuum and strengthens Yemen’s resilience through programs that stabilize the economy, rebuild basic education and health systems, increase social cohesion, and improve water sector access and management.
Yemen is experiencing one of the world’s worst water crises and WASH needs have significantly increased due to destruction of infrastructure, large-scale displacements, water mismanagement, and impacts of climate change. About 20.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen, where a lack of essential health and WASH services increases the spread of communicable disease outbreaks in over 70 percent of the country, according to the United Nations Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs. At least 50 percent of people report serious issues with water quality, and only 45 percent of Yemenis have access to hygiene materials such as soap. More than half of this group -- 12.1 million people -- are in acute need of life-saving assistance. In addition, deteriorating WASH infrastructure has contributed to a cholera outbreak and the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. Lack of access to potable water is one of the underlying causes of malnutrition in the country, undermining economic and social stability.
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