A wave of innovation brings safe water to communities in Sa’ada and Al Jawf

Sa’ada, Yemen, 11 June 2019 - In northern parts of Yemen, water scarcity and poor sanitation prevent children from living a normal life where they can grow up healthy, have access to safe drinking water and go to school. Almost 18 million people, half of them being children, are in need of assistance to reach appropriate levels of water, sanitation and hygiene living conditions across the country.

These challenges existed before the current conflict broke out four years ago and contributed to the spread of epidemic diseases such as cholera, which remains a real risk in 2019. Over 724,000 suspected cases of cholera have been detected since January 2018, with 1,135 associated deaths and children under five years old representing more than a quarter of the suspected cases.

In response to this outbreak, UNICEF delivers critical water and sanitation services to affected populations to contain the outbreak and prevent further spread. With the support of its partners, UNICEF covers over three quarter of the overall water, sanitation and hygiene response to cholera in Yemen, this includes in the 21 priority governorates with essential interventions such as the deployment of Rapid Response Teams at household level, chlorination of water supply systems, hygiene promotion, operational support to local water authorities and sanitation interventions.

Sa’ada and Al Jawf, two northern governorates in Yemen, are a good example of the joint efforts of UNICEF and its local partners, which contribute to develop and maintain cost-effective water infrastructure through an innovative approach, using solar energy with the communities being at the centre of the project, to ensure both project’ sustainability and communities’ resilience.