12-08-2025
QRCS continues to support Yemen's water sector
Tribune News Network
Doha
The representation office of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in Yemen has completed a project to dig boreholes and construct water tanks in the towns of Lawdar and Mudiyah, Abyan Governorate.
Aimed at securing clean water for 23,200 people, the project had a total cost of $413,115, funded from the giving of benevolent Qatari donors.
It involved digging four boreholes, installing solar-powered pumping systems, constructing four 27 cubic metre concrete water storage tanks, building control rooms to manage and operate borehole components, and extending 3,926-metre water supply networks connecting boreholes and tanks.
During the technical procedures to hand the project's outcomes over to the local communities and competent authorities, Gamal Alala, director-general of Lawdar, expressed his great happiness with the project: 'With generous support from QRCS, we are inaugurating Lawdar water well, Shabiba borehole, and two water tanks. These projects ensure the sustainable provision of water for 10 remote villages that have been underserved for decades, and the population had to suffer a lot to get water'.
Ali Harbaji, director-general of Mudiyah, considered the project a significant development for the two beneficiary localities. 'For many years, these areas have been suffering from water scarcity and inadequate services infrastructure,' he commented. 'We appreciate the efforts of QRCS to support humanitarian and development projects and help rural communities live with dignity. This achievement has put an end to many years of suffering and addressed the needs of more than 3,000 people in five villages'.
In a statement, Eng. Ahmed Hassan Al-Sharaji, head of QRCS's office in Yemen, revealed the volume of relief and development water-related interventions done since 2020: 'There are 352 surface water wells and 21 boreholes dug, rehabilitated, and operated, at a total cost of over $3.5 million (some QR13 million), as part of 10 projects implemented over the past five years'.
He added, 'In coordination with the competent authorities, we managed to provide clean water for 370,581 people, mostly in remote, underserved, and desperate villages across 59 districts in 11 governorates, as follows: Taiz, Dhale, Al-Hudaydah, Raymah, Sa'dah, Al-Jawf, Ibb, Al-Mahwit, Hajjah, Lahij, and Abyan'.
Al-Sharaji highlighted the importance attached to the water sector in QRCS's plans and programs, explaining, 'QRCS's interest in and response to such projects align with its humanitarian priorities, notably easing the water shortage, providing potable water, making it easier to get water, protecting children against falling into open water wells, and preventing the spread of waterborne diseases such as schistosomiasis and cholera'.
'One of the key challenges to the project was the difficult geographical features of several target districts. For example, in Jahaf, Dhale, QRCS's personnel crossed mountainous heights and extremely rugged terrain to construct concrete supports and lay 1,500-metre water supply networks to deliver water to mountainous villages,' he concluded.
According to UN reports, Yemen is one of the world's poorest countries in terms of water resources, with more than half of the 30-million population lacking access to safe water, especially in rural areas and remote communities.
To help alleviate the water crisis in Yemen, QRCS is launching a project to dig 10 new boreholes, equipped with solar-powered tanks and pumps, to meet the water needs of 35,000 people. Those willing to support this QR4 million project can donate via the following link:
