IOM Yemen: KSrelief and IOM Boost Sanitation and Waste Management Services for Over 185,000 People in Ma’rib

Ma’rib, Yemen — September 2025

 The International Organization for Migration (IOM), with generous support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), has completed a year-long project to improve sanitation infrastructure and solid and liquid waste management services for over 185,000 people in Ma’rib Governorate, home to Yemen’s largest population of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The project addressed urgent sanitation gaps in displacement sites and host communities, benefiting 44,119 IDPs, 2,937 host community members, while strengthening the capacity of Ma’rib’s public environmental health authority, the Hygiene Improvement Fund (HIF), to manage waste services sustainably.

Key achievements include the construction of 200 new household latrines with integrated handwashing units, rehabilitation of 600 cesspits in Ma'rib Alwadi and in the city, provision of three garbage trucks and three vacuum trucks to HIF, improvement of Ma’rib’s central fecal waste dumping site, and interim desludging and solid waste collection services across 19 displacement sites. 

Poor sanitation accounts for the majority of the root causes of cholera outbreaks, malnutrition, and diarrheal diseases. Ma'rib has been one of Yemen's cholera hotspots in recent years, where overcrowding and poor sanitation have accelerated the spread of disease. Through the construction of new latrines, sealing and repairing of damaged cesspits, and introducing covered pits to enable safe desludging, this project has played a vital role in reducing the threat of waterborne disease, cholera containment, and promoting overall public health in both displacement camps and host communities. 

“The project has provided us with essential equipment and expanded our services, which were urgently needed. However, it does not fully solve the problem — far greater resources and sustained funding are required to meet the ongoing needs of both displaced and host communities,” said Awaad Abdulraqeeb, an official with the Hygiene Improvement Fund 
 

The intervention also integrated protection measures, including interior locks, lighting, and gender-sensitive design for latrines, and prioritized vulnerable households such as female-headed families, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, and households with pregnant or lactating women. 

“The project has been deeply rewarding. Hearing from the community, especially the most vulnerable households, that they feel their dignity has been restored is the greatest measure of success for us,” said Ammar Taher, IOM WASH engineer.

IOM, as part of the broader humanitarian community in Yemen, will continue to build the capacity of local and national partners to support a sustainable response by carrying out interventions in close coordination and consultation with relevant authorities and, in targeted communities, by encouraging community participation to foster intervention ownership and sustainability.  

The project is part of IOM’s progressive strategy to reduce dependence on humanitarian assistance, by providing essential equipment to the Hygiene Improvement Fund to carry out waste collection services in the long term.

A rapid population growth in Ma’rib since the start of the conflict, rising from an estimated 350,000 residents in 2015 to over 2 million in 2023, including more than 1.6 million IDPs. The scale of displacement has placed a huge strain on water access, sanitation, and hygiene services, with 9.6 million individuals across Yemen lacking access to improved sanitation, according to the 2024 Humanitarian Needs Overview. 

For more information, please contact:

IOM Yemen Communications Team, iomyemenmediacomm@iom.int