Aden – Three districts in Aden city—home to around 35,000 people—have improved access to clean water thanks to an International Organization for Migration (IOM) collaboration with the Local Water and Sanitation Corporation.

The water networks’ main lines in Dar Saad, Alshaikh Othman and Almansoorah districts had been facing water difficulties for some time. The pipes and valves in the water network were not functioning properly, and the local authorities were worried that dirty wastewater could soon start seeping into pipes carrying drinking water.

But the items needed to fix the City’s water network (main lines) were both expensive and unavailable in the local market.

“When we visited the districts and inspected the water networks, we saw the problem that the local authorities had described to us,” said Mohammed Abdalla, member of IOM’s water, sanitation and hygiene team in Aden and an engineer by training.

“We were worried that the wastewater could impact the health of the communities living there so we knew we had to act fast to support this rehabilitation project. Given the high number of displaced people living these three districts, we also wanted to ensure that there would not be competition between the displaced families and local community over access to clean water in the future,” explained Abdalla.

IOM carried out the rehabilitation work over six months. During the course of the project, the team faces issues with procuring the items needed, given the COVID-19 pandemics impact on international trade. However, the team overcame the issues and were able to finalize the rehabilitation.

IOM also ensured that the Local Water and Sanitation Corporation are the ones able to control the valves and the water network to ensure that the water is distributed fairly. Previously, in the old system, it was easier for anyone to tamper with the valves.

The rehabilitation of Aden city’s water network (main lines) was made possible through financial support from USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs (BHA) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

For more information, please contact IOM Yemen:

Arabic: Mennatallah Homaid, Tel: +967739888755, Email: mhomaid@iom.int 

English: Olivia Headon, Tel: +251926379755, WhatsApp: +967 Email: oheadon@iom.int