Yemen signs two water deals worth $440,000 for Shabwa and Abyan
The projects will improve water sources and infrastructure, with one expected to benefit about 6,000 people in Abyan's Khanfar District.
Yemen's Deputy Minister of Water and Environment, Mujahid bin Afarar, signed two agreements in Aden on Tuesday to carry out water projects in Shabwa and Abyan, worth a combined $440,000, the news agency of Yemen's internationally recognised government Saba (Government) reported.
The first deal, made with the Kuwait Relief Society, will fund a second phase of work to strengthen water supplies in Ataq, Shabwa.
That work includes fitting pumps, motors and pipelines, and it will take six months to finish.
The second agreement, signed with the charity Muslim Hands, targets the water system in the Abr Othman area of Khanfar District, Abyan.
Planned work there covers repairing a well, setting up a solar power system and restoring a water tank over eight months.
The ministry expects the Abyan project to serve around 6,000 people.
Bafarar thanked both organizations for their backing and stressed that the government wants to keep working with donors.
He said such partnerships are needed to improve water services and give local communities safer access to drinking water.
Yemen has faced severe water shortages for years, particularly in rural areas where wells and pipelines have been damaged during the country's long-running conflict.
Foreign aid groups and charities have funded many small-scale water projects in these areas as the government and humanitarian agencies work to restore basic services.
