Chapter
4:
Context
and
contextual
changes
Last
but
not
least,
the
constant
increase
of
refugees
from
the
Middle
East
and
the
Horn
of
Africa,
as
well
as
a
dramatic
surge
in
internally
displaced
persons
after
the
revolution
in
2011
(see
Figure
4.8)
may
exacerbate
the
food
security
and
unemployment
situations.
Figure
4.8:
Number
of
refugees
and
internally
displaced
persons
in
Yemen
2004-‐2012
Source:
World
Bank
4.2.3
Water
and
sanitation
The
well-‐being
of
the
Yemeni
population
is
undermined
by
the
lack
of
access
to
improved
water
sources
and
sanitation
in
both
urban
and
rural
areas.
The
percentage
of
the
population
with
access
to
improved
sanitation
facilities
has
risen
from
just
over
20
percent
to
around
50
percent
between
1990
and
2012
(see
Figure
4.4),
although
the
percentage
gap
between
urban
and
rural
populations
is
significant
as
of
2011
(see
Table
4.2,
also
Figure
4.5,
Figure
4.11).
The
improvement
of
sanitation
facilities
may
partially
explain
the
decrease
in
the
percentage
of
deaths
of
under-‐5
children
caused
by
diarrhoeal
diseases
in
the
past
decade.
An
assessment
of
various
governorates
found
that
in
rural
areas
14.8
percent
of
the
people
surveyed
mentioned
they
exclusively
defecate
in
the
open
and
more
than
half
partly
defecate
in
the
open.
The
report
also
mentions
that
in
96
percent
of
the
rural
sites
there
are
no
garbage
facilities,
whereas
the
figure
is
87
percent
in
urban
areas.
In
many
places,
there
are
reports
of
pits
and
ponds
where
water
accumulates
and
vector
diseases
are
a
threat
(WCPY,
2012).
The
percentage
of
population
with
access
to
improved
drinking
water
sources
has
declined
over
the
same
period
(see
Figure
4.9).
An
assessment
of
various
governorates
identifies
one
of
the
main
causes
reported
of
unreliable
water
provision
to
be
a
lack
of
maintenance.
In
rural
areas,
over
a
third
of
the
population
spend
more
than
30
minutes
per
trip
to
fetch
water.
In
both
rural
and
urban
areas,
over
30
percent
of
the
population
are
reported
to
depend
on
water
trucking.
In
rural
areas,
54
percent
of
the
population
suffer
from
water
quality
related
issues,
mainly
diarrhoea.
The
gap
between
urban
and
rural
population
is
also
significant
(as
shown
in
Table
4.2
and
Figures
4.9
and
4.10).
The
low
rate
of
access
to
both
sanitation
and
clean
drinking
water
likely
plays
a
role
in
the
improved
but
still
high
infant
mortality
rate
in
Yemen.
The
government
of
Yemen
is
facing
major
challenges
in
providing
safe
and
secure
water
to
larger
segments
of
society.
One
of
the
major
issues
is
investment
in
new
infrastructure,
allocation
of
scarce
resources
from
agricultural
use
to
drinking
water
supply,
and
enforcement
of
water
law
and
regulations.
Difficulties
in
water
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