Yemen Minister Warns of Impending Health System Collapse Amid Severe Funding Shortages

A security officer walks in front of Prince Mohammed bin Salman Hospital in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Yemen’s Minister of Public Health and Population Qasim Buhaibeh has warned Al Jazeera that certain regions across the country face a total collapse of health services should the ongoing decline in funding persist.

According to Buhaibeh, the critical lack of resources has already forced numerous health facilities to shut down while triggering severe shortages of medicines, essential supplies, and fuel. Consequently, the health sector struggles to absorb additional waves of displacement driven by the ongoing war.

Essential services—including emergency care, maternal and child healthcare, vaccination programs, nutrition support, dialysis, and cancer treatments—face the greatest threat from shrinking financial aid. Updated health data through June 2026 reveals that 19.3 million individuals in Yemen require medical assistance, yet the response plan has secured only 17 percent of its necessary funding.

The minister noted that fewer than 50 percent of health facilities likely operate at full capacity, a figure dropping even lower than the 60 percent previously cited by the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, fresh displacement figures show that 134,550 people fled their homes between June and September 22, primarily seeking refuge in Taiz, Lahij, and Aden, thereby compounding the strain on already resource-deprived facilities.

Furthermore, reporting of health data from Houthi-controlled areas has remained suspended for nearly a year, blinding authorities to a comprehensive nationwide epidemiological outlook. Minister Buhaibeh also highlighted that rampant displacement, widespread malnutrition, and low vaccination rates are fueling dangerous outbreaks of cholera, measles, and polio.

Official records from 2025 documented over 27,000 confirmed measles cases, while approximately half of all Yemeni children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Highlighting the broader crisis, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 130,000 people across seven governorates have been displaced since fighting surged in early September between the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognised Yemeni government coalition forces.