In the Time of Cholera: A Timeline of How Conflict in Yemen Has Resulted in

Poor Water Quality & Disease

By Paris Coughlin

Yemen faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, says USAID. Conflict and famine are
ravaging the country and leaving hundreds of thousands dead. Here is a timeline of the events:

● January 2011 - Pro-democracy protests emerge in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, and

President ‘Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has held power for 30 years, is called to step down.
● November 2011 - February 2012 - Saleh agrees to resign and turns the presidency
over to Vice President ‘Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. A presidential election takes place in
early 2012 with only Hadi’s name on the ballot. He is sworn in on 25 Feb. 2012, reports
Britannica.
● 2014 - The Houthi Movement, an armed Shi’a Islamist political group from Northern
Yemen, takes control of Sana’a.
● 2015 - World Food Programme says millions of Yemenis face famine.
● January 2015 - Houthis seize the capitol building and President Hadi resigns.
● March 2015 - Saudi Arabia leads an embargo and airstrikes against the Houthi
Movement.
● September 2015 - Hadi is still internationally recognized as president and reinstates his
power. Hadi’s return prompts internal fighting between his supporters and Houthis. He
remains in exile in Saudi Arabia, says Global Conflict Tracker.
● 2016 - Food instability and water, sanitation and health services (WASH) insecurity in
Yemen becomes an international concern. Global Conflict Tracker reports the U.S.
conducts over 35 airstrikes in Yemen as part of counterterrorism measures against
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
● July 2016 - December 2017 - Former-President Saleh allies with the Houthi Movement
and takes governance over Sana’a and much of Northern Yemen. Saleh tells his
followers to turn on the Houthis; he is subdued and killed within two days.
● 2017 - Yemen has one of the worst cholera outbreaks in history, says UNICEF. Over
2,800 of the 1.3 million infected die, most of whom are children. The U.S. launches 130
airstrikes against AQAP.
● 2019 - UNICEF reports an uptick in previously declining acute watery diarrhea (AWD)
and cholera cases; suspected cases reach over 400,000. COVID-19 limits clean water
aid, says Mercy Corps.
 ● December 2020 - 96% of Yemeni governorates are infected by cholera, totaling 2.5
million cases and 3,852 deaths since April 2017, says USAID.
● 2021 - USAID reports that less than half of Yemen’s health facilities are functional and
municipal water infrastructure is nonexistent. 20.5 million Yemenis are in need of WASH
services and over 325,000 children under the age of five are suffering from severe
malnutrition.

Solutions and Next Steps

Organizations like UNICEF, USAID and the Mercy Corps are dedicated to providing WASH
services to the millions of Yemenis who need them. Most projects involve providing access to
clean water and fixing the water infrastructure. The goal is to reduce the number of people
infected with AWD/cholera, despite the continuing conflict. Efforts to bring political stability to
Yemen are also in place, though there is little hope for a quick resolution. Global Conflict Tracker
reports that every side involved in the conflict has committed human rights violations.