Sanaa, 6 August 2022 (TDI): The World Bank’s Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project (YEEAP) seeks to leverage solar energy facilities. The aim of YEEAP is to improve access to electricity in rural and peri-urban areas between 2018 and 2022.

People of Yemen have suffered from severe energy poverty, particularly those living in rural areas and the poor, who made up roughly half of the country’s population of around 30 million people.

Since the conflict in Yemen erupted in 2015, life in rural communities has deteriorated, and the destruction has not spared the electricity sector.

Assistance of YEEAP

However, the YEEAP is diligently working to resolve these issues. “With the help of this project, we have been able to provide better services to mothers and children.

“Previously, we worked only in the morning, but today we are able to work longer hours and store and deliver vaccines and other medications that people desperately need,” said Nabil Ahmed, the Health Facility Manager.

The project is intended to close gender gaps in access to energy and finance, thereby benefiting women and girls.

Grant-funded solar systems also aim to benefit critical service providers such as hospitals, schools, and rural water corporations. Overall, the project will strengthen the public sector’s capacity to deliver services.

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Importance of solar energy

Besides, restoring clean and renewable energy at an affordable cost to critical facilities is critical to alleviating the country’s dire humanitarian situation, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. Additionally, improving household energy access is critical to meeting the daily needs of people.

Furthermore, the affordability of solar products is a major barrier for the most vulnerable households. The low quality of products and after-sales support has threatened the market’s long-term viability.

While many consumers chose low-cost, low-quality power systems, those systems frequently failed after a few months. With few incentives to supply and install high-quality systems, power companies, too, opted for lower-quality products and materials in Yemen.