Yemen continues to face one of the world's most severe water and sanitation crises, with 15.2 million people lacking adequate WASH services - nearly half the country's population. The situation has deteriorated significantly in 2025, with only 32% of the targeted population having access to safe water through sustained systems and just 11% reached with sustained sanitation support. Recent flooding has further damaged critical infrastructure, affecting over 100,000 people in southern Yemen alone, while water-related diseases remain a major threat with 58,097 new cholera cases and 1,163 associated fatalities reported from April-July 2025.
Perhaps most concerning is the severe underfunding of WASH interventions under Yemen's Humanitarian Response Plan, with only 13.4% of requirements met as of September 2025. This funding gap directly constrains the delivery of essential services across the country, particularly affecting areas like Marib, where the population has grown from 360,000 in 2014 to over 3 million by 2024, overwhelming existing infrastructure. Sustained, long-term solutions are urgently needed beyond emergency responses to address Yemen's deepening WASH crisis and prevent further humanitarian catastrophe.
