Red Cross buying fuel to pump clean water in Yemen
The Red Cross says it is making a “stop-gap” purchase of fuel to provide clean water for one million people in the Yemeni cities of Hudaydah and Ta’izz for one…
month amid the ongoing Saudi-led war on the impoverished Arab country.
Iolanda Jaquemet, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said on Wednesday that the ICRC was buying 750,000 liters of fuel for the two cities, calling it “an exceptional stop-gap measure.”
“As a last resort and in light of the large and urgent needs…we are purchasing fuel to supply the urban water corporations in Hudaydah and Ta’izz with fuel, enough to operate their water pumps for one month,” Jaquemet said.
She said the fuel shortage in Yemen had become “critical” under the Saudi-led blockade, which has left water systems in at least nine Yemeni cities without fuel to run pumps.
According to the spokeswoman, the lack of fuel has a “cascading impact on several vital sectors” as prices have risen sharply.
Fuel is needed to transport goods and run hospital generators and maintain cold chains for vaccines and medicines. It is also required to maintain water and sanitation as well as health and food sectors.
