Renewed Fighting in Taiz Triggers Severe Humanitarian Crisis
Renewed conflict between the Government of Yemen and Houthi forces has besieged Taiz, causing water shortages and a surge in cholera cases.
Renewed fighting between the Government of Yemen and the Iran-allied Houthi group since September has pushed Taiz into a severe humanitarian crisis. The conflict has severed key supply routes, including the Taiz-Aden corridor, effectively placing the city under siege and disrupting the fuel supplies necessary for hospitals and water pumps.
Water production in the city has fallen by approximately 50 percent, forcing residents to ration drinking water and pay triple the usual price for trucked water. The collapse of waste collection has led to massive rubbish accumulation, which has contributed to a public health emergency. Cholera cases have tripled from 221 to 683 since early September, while health officials report the spread of dengue fever and critical shortages of medicine.
International aid agencies report that the road closures have halted the delivery of therapeutic food for 52,000 acutely malnourished children in the governorate. Deteriorating sanitation conditions have also affected crowded displacement sites in the Lahj and Abyan governorates.
