UN: Access Cutoff to Taiz Threatens 42 Health Facilities and Water Supplies

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that the Yemeni city of Taiz has been cut off from the outside world for twenty days, affirming that the closure of access routes has led to a sharp decline in supplies of fuel, food, and drinking water.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said at the weekly press conference of the UN office in Geneva that "conflicts make it impossible for us to enter the area and for people to exit" since October 3, and added that this situation represents a stark example of what can happen when humanitarian access is severed. He noted that many residents of the city depend on water tankers to meet their needs, but the scarcity of diesel fuel required to operate them has made this increasingly difficult, causing the price of tanked water to rise to roughly three times its previous level. Laerke pointed out that household gas has become nearly nonexistent, adding: "This scarcity now threatens even community kitchens that provide hot meals to families."

For his part, World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeyer warned that hospitals in Taiz are struggling severely to maintain their vital services due to acute shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines, and medical supplies. Lindmeyer noted that "42 health facilities in Taiz" are suffering from acute shortages, and clarified that hospitals and ambulances need more than 156,000 liters of fuel monthly to continue operating, pointing out that fuel scarcity also threatens oxygen production, emergency patient transport, and the maintenance of the cold chain for vaccines. Lindmeyer stressed that the World Health Organization continues its work with health authorities to verify current fuel stocks and assess the scale of disruptions to hospital services. Lindmeyer had previously indicated that the organization received information four days ago indicating that fuel stocks in Taiz hospitals were running low, but it has not yet received any notification that stocks have actually run out.

On the food front, communications officer for the UN World Food Programme in East and Southern Africa Athfar Deen stated that the food situation in Yemen is extremely concerning, noting that more than 800,000 people have been cut off from food assistance, including 200,000 women and children who depend on humanitarian aid. Deen said: "We are making intensive efforts to reach them again, as well as to support our broader operations in Yemen."

Yemen is experiencing an escalation in conflict between government forces and the Iran-backed Houthi movement, which holds Saudi Arabia responsible for attacks directed at it and targets it with ballistic missiles and drones.