Yemen’s fragile healthcare infrastructure is teetering on the edge of total collapse in several regions, according to a stark warning from the Minister of Public Health and Population, Qasim Buhaibeh. Speaking with Al Jazeera, Buhaibeh cautioned that a persistent decline in international funding is pushing many areas toward a complete loss of medical services. The crisis is being exacerbated by an ongoing conflict that has forced countless families from their homes, leaving a strained system unable to absorb new waves of displaced people who arrive with urgent needs but few available resources.

The shortage of essential medicine, medical supplies, and fuel has already led to the closure of numerous clinics and hospitals across the country. According to the minister, it is likely that fewer than half of all health facilities are currently operating at full capacity. This degradation hits the most vulnerable hardest, threatening critical lifelines such as maternal and child healthcare, routine vaccinations, dialysis treatments, and cancer care. While current projections suggest that over 19 million people in Yemen require immediate health assistance, funding for these responses has stagnated at just 17 percent of what is actually needed.

Adding to the desperation is a growing humanitarian disaster driven by mass displacement and disease. Recent spikes in fighting between Houthi forces and the recognized government have pushed tens of thousands more into overcrowded centers in cities like Taiz and Aden. In this environment of instability and widespread malnutrition, preventable diseases are returning with a vengeance. Outbreaks of cholera, polio, and measles are surging; officials reported more than 27 thousand confirmed measles cases recently alone, while roughly half of all children under five continue to suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Compounding these challenges is a dangerous lack of transparency regarding the true scale of the catastrophe. Buhaibeh revealed that health data reporting from Houthi-controlled territories has been suspended for nearly a year, effectively blinding national authorities to the actual epidemiological situation in those zones. Without comprehensive data or a surge in global financial support, the ministry fears that once-manageable health crises will evolve into uncontrollable epidemics throughout the region.

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