Water, fuel, medicine and dialysis shortages are threatening healthcare and daily life in Taiz, Yemen, as Houthi rebels tighten their encirclement of the city, according to humanitarian groups and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Taiz siege water shortage is among the most pressing problems residents face.
Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, is besieged by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. According to humanitarian groups cited by SCMP, the needs of its more than 1 million residents are barely being met.
According to SCMP, access to wells is limited, desalination plants are running low on fuel, and water delivery trucks are largely prevented from entering the city. SCMP’s article gives no specific date for the water crisis.
The dialysis centre at the Republican Hospital, which treats 270 patients, has cut sessions from four hours to two and a half, according to Al Jazeera. The centre’s director said the cuts were caused by shortages of diesel and dialysis solution.
The WHO warned on October 22 of critical shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines and medical supplies across Taiz governorate. According to Al Jazeera, the WHO said 42 health facilities in Taiz city reported severe shortages.
The WHO also said hospitals and ambulances in Taiz need at least 156,000 litres of fuel a month. Taiz’s hospitals depend on diesel generators because much of the city’s electricity infrastructure was destroyed in the war and has not been restored, according to Al Jazeera.
Amnesty International called on the Houthis to immediately reopen vital roads into and around the city. According to Al Jazeera, the group warned that the closure of the Taiz-Aden road threatens hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The siege reportedly began in the first week of October, after Houthi advances in the Taiz countryside. Taiz was also under complete Houthi siege from 2015 to 2016, according to the same reporting.
Taiz has struggled with water scarcity for more than a decade, but the crisis has reached a critical level in recent weeks, according to SCMP and NPR World.
The director of the dialysis centre warned that a complete shutdown could come within days, according to Al Jazeera. Separately, al-Samei warned that some hospitals could stop services in the coming days if conditions keep worsening.
The sources do not include any response from the Houthis or their representatives to the siege or the shortage claims. The 270-patient dialysis figure comes from hospital statements and has not been independently confirmed. Reported black-market diesel prices, which reportedly rose fivefold, have also not been independently confirmed. NPR World was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its details are limited. The Al Jazeera article appears to be cut off mid-quote, so the full patient testimony is unavailable.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.