Yemen’s health system could collapse in some areas, minister warns

Yemen’s healthcare system may not be able to support the population as war strains resources, minister tells Al Jazeera.

A security officer walks in front of Prince Mohammed bin Salman Hospital in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, September 16, 2026 [Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP]

Some areas in Yemen could suffer from a complete loss of health services if a decline in funding continues, Yemen’s Minister of Public Health and Population Qasim Buhaibeh has told Al Jazeera.

He said that the health sector may not be able to absorb additional waves of displacement from the ongoing war while a lack of resources has forced the closure of health facilities and caused shortages of medicines, supplies and fuel.

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Buhaibeh added that emergency services, maternal and child healthcare, vaccination and nutrition services, as well as dialysis and cancer treatment, are all particularly threatened by the decline in funding.

He noted that health data updated through June 2026 indicates that 19.3 million people in Yemen require health assistance, while funding for the response has reached only 17 percent of the required amount.

Buhaibeh said that the proportion of health facilities operating at full capacity has likely dropped to less than 50 percent. The World Health Organization had cited 60 percent .

The minister cited figures indicating that 134,550 people have been displaced by the war between June and September 22, with most of them being in Taiz, Lahij and Aden. He said the influx of displaced people has placed additional pressure on health facilities that were already struggling with limited resources.

Buhaibeh said the reporting of health data from Houthi-controlled areas has been suspended for nearly a year, preventing authorities from forming a complete nationwide picture of the epidemiological situation.

Additionally, Buhaibeh warned that displacement, malnutrition and low vaccination coverage are coinciding with outbreaks of cholera, measles and polio.

He noted that more than 27,000 confirmed measles cases were recorded in 2025 and that around half of Yemen’s children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has found that nearly 130,000 people, or 30,000 households, have been displaced across seven governorates in Yemen since fighting escalated between the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognised Yemeni government coalition forces in early September.

也门卫生部长告诉半岛电视台，由于战争导致资源紧张，也门的医疗系统可能无法满足民众的需求。

2026年9月16日星期三，一名保安人员走过也门亚丁的穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼王子医院前。[Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP]

也门公共卫生和人口部长卡西姆·布海贝告诉半岛电视台，如果资金持续减少，也门一些地区可能会完全失去医疗服务。

他表示，卫生部门可能无法应对持续战争带来的更多流离失所者，而资源匮乏已迫使医疗机构关闭，并导致药品、物资和燃料短缺。

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布海贝补充说，紧急服务、妇幼保健、疫苗接种和营养服务以及透析和癌症治疗都特别受到资金减少的威胁。

他指出，截至 2026 年 6 月的最新健康数据显示，也门有 1930 万人需要医疗援助，而应对措施的资金仅达到了所需金额的 17%。

布海贝表示，满负荷运转的医疗机构比例可能已降至50%以下。世界卫生组织此前公布的数据为60%。

部长援引数据显示，6月至9月22日期间，已有134,550人因战争流离失所，其中大部分集中在塔伊兹、拉赫季和亚丁。他表示，大量流离失所者的涌入给本已资源有限的医疗机构带来了更大的压力。

布海贝表示，胡塞武装控制区的健康数据报告已经暂停了近一年，导致当局无法全面了解全国的流行病学情况。

此外，布海贝警告说，流离失所、营养不良和疫苗接种覆盖率低与霍乱、麻疹和脊髓灰质炎的爆发同时发生。

他指出，2025 年记录在案的麻疹确诊病例超过 27,000 例，也门约有一半五岁以下儿童患有慢性营养不良。

国际移民组织（IOM）发现，自9月初伊朗支持的胡塞武装与国际公认的也门政府联军之间的战斗升级以来，也门七个省份已有近13万人（或3万户家庭）流离失所。