UN agencies warn more than 1.6 million children in Yemen’s Taiz risk losing water access as fuel shortages threaten pumps and hospitals face dwindling supplies

UN agencies warned that more than 1.6 million children in Taiz governorate risk losing access to water as ongoing fighting and fuel shortages threaten essential services. Water systems serving an estimated 3 million people are at risk, UNICEF Representative in Yemen Akhil Iyer said; diesel shortages could halt pumps, while the cost of trucked water has tripled.

Iyer also said more than 168,000 children had been screened for malnutrition in Taiz this year, with over 52,000 found to be acutely malnourished.

Displacement across Yemen exceeded 250,000 people as of Oct. 17, UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh reported. Taiz accounted for 76% of departures and hosted 52% of the newly displaced. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic warned that 12 hospitals in Taiz had about four days of fuel remaining, while 115 of 127 essential medicines had supplies sufficient for a week or less. Weekly suspected cholera cases had also risen sharply.