Fighting around Yemen's Taiz has restricted fuel deliveries for water pumps and garbage trucks, forcing families to ration drinking water and raising the risk of disease, UNICEF said.
Water systems supported by UNICEF serve an estimated 3 million people in Taiz, including at least 1.6 million children, the agency said. UNICEF Yemen Representative Akhil Iyer said a truckload of water now costs about 70,000 Yemeni rials, compared with about 23,000 before the latest escalation.
Taiz was already one of Yemen's most water-scarce areas, according to UNICEF. Diesel shortages have interrupted pumping, while fighting has prevented garbage trucks from reaching their dumping site, Iyer said. Reuters reported that residents queued to fill water containers as rubbish accumulated along major roads.
Since the latest escalation began in September, clashes have obstructed the Taiz-Aden supply corridor. An estimated 120,000 people have been displaced to Taiz city or elsewhere in the governorate, Iyer said, adding pressure on water and sanitation services.
UNICEF said it was supplying diesel to sustain water pumps and delivering emergency water and sanitation support to more than 300,000 people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said suspected cholera cases across Yemen roughly tripled from early September to early October. That nationwide trend does not establish how many cases occurred in Taiz. WHO also said 12 hospitals in Taiz had about four days of fuel remaining.
UNICEF said more than 52,000 children it screened in Taiz this year were acutely malnourished. The agency has stored therapeutic food in the governorate, but closed roads are hindering deliveries to health facilities. It urged the parties to allow access to the city and protect water and health services.
