A workshop was held in the capital Sana’a to present the results of the UNICEF team’s visit from the main office in New York and Geneva to Yemen, organized by the Ministry of Water and Environment in partnership with UNICEF.
The workshop reviewed the results of the team’s visit to Yemen, which focused on reviewing the humanitarian action plan in Yemen, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations to move forward in improving water and sanitation services.
Deputy Minister of Water and Environment Haneen al-Duraib renewed his welcome to the UNICEF team from the main office in New York on his visit to Yemen as well as partners from various organizations, appreciating UNICEF’s role and contribution to alleviating the suffering of children, women and the elderly in Yemen.
Al-Duraib considered the holding of the workshop the culmination of the outputs of the UNICEF team’s visit from the main office, expressing the hope that this visit would be crowned with success and convey the concerns of the Yemeni people, the Ministry of Water and Environment and its affiliates to where they should be from the concerned authorities.
He explained that many issues were discussed with the UNICEF team, focusing on the suffering of the community as a result of the interruption of diesel, the deterioration of service in water delivery, and the suspension of some institutions as a result of their inability to purchase diesel due to its high prices, the weak ability of the citizen to pay the water bill, and the futility of raising the tariff.
Al-Duraib stressed that the continuation of the situation as it is, will lead to an environmental disaster, stressing the need to expedite the implementation of what has been planned for solar energy and start experimenting with wind energy in rural and urban areas, which calls for speedy the implementation procedures.
He pointed out that the sewage situation was discussed at the level of local institutions, as well as the level of severity of treatment in Bani al-Harith in the capital Sana’a and the seriousness of its continuation as it is, referring to the study of the problem of ground and surface water pollution in some secondary cities as a result of sewage. This calls for intervention to address it, as it is among the list of priorities of the Ministry of Water and Environment.
He touched on the deterioration of water basins in the Republic, which were studied with the UNICEF team, explaining that the depths of water basins in the capital Sana’a and Bayda provinces ranged from 850 meters to 1,000 meters, and the recharge rate is a small number of what is used of water, which requires rapid intervention to make caravans, barriers and tanks.
The Deputy Minister urged the UNICEF team to redouble efforts and keep pace with the need to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, hoping that the workshop would yield meaningful outputs that serve the public interest, appreciating the efforts of the workshop preparation team from the Ministry of Water and UNICEF.
It touched on the solutions and treatments that the team came up with during its visit, and set points of agreement with those concerned in implementing projects to provide water, reach the needy, and make the necessary response in Yemen.
For his part, the Deputy Coordinator of the WASH Cluster at the head office in Geneva explained that UNICEF’s role is based on monitoring and supporting efforts to provide water and sanitation services in 30 countries, including Yemen.
Source: Yemen News Agency