Renewed suffering in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a
In a move that exacerbates the suffering of residents, the Houthi group, the de facto authority in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, has imposed new measures that have doubled the burden of accessing potable water, further deepening the humanitarian crisis in a city ravaged by years of war. These measures place an additional strain on citizens already struggling with economic collapse and unpaid salaries, making access to even the most basic necessities a daily struggle.
General context and historical background of the crisis
Yemen’s water crisis is not a product of the current conflict. Yemen, and the Sana’a Basin in particular, was already considered one of the most water-scarce regions in the world even before the war began in 2014. For decades, the country has suffered from severe depletion of its groundwater due to uncontrolled agricultural expansion and rapid population growth, pushing it to the brink of water catastrophe. However, the ongoing war has dramatically exacerbated the situation, destroying water and sanitation infrastructure and causing a severe and persistent fuel shortage for water pumps, thus crippling the ability of government institutions to provide basic services.
The importance of the event and its expected impact
The danger of the recent Houthi decisions lies in the fact that they transform water, a basic human right, into an expensive commodity that the majority of the population cannot afford. This measure has dire consequences on various levels:
- At the local level, families will be forced to allocate a larger portion of their meager income to purchasing water, at the expense of other essential needs such as food, medicine, and education. The risk of residents resorting to unsafe water sources also increases, opening the door to outbreaks of waterborne diseases like cholera, of which Yemen has already experienced devastating epidemics during the years of war.
- At the regional and international levels, these measures exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, which the United Nations considers the worst in the world. They increase the pressure on international aid organizations already struggling to meet the immense needs of the population. They also reflect a pattern of using basic resources and services as tools for coercion and extortion in conflict zones, complicating peace efforts and increasing the suffering of civilians.
Controlling water supplies and imposing additional fees on them is not only an economic burden, but it is also part of the repercussions of the collapse of the state and its institutions, where the de facto authorities exploit people’s basic needs to enhance their financial resources at the expense of citizens’ basic rights, thus prolonging the crisis and increasing its complexities.
