ISLAMABAD: (News Desk) – Yemen’s worsening conflict is pushing the country’s already fragile healthcare system towards a critical breaking point, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday, as deadly disease outbreaks continue to spread across the war-ravaged nation.
The latest escalation has intensified the humanitarian crisis, with a renewed ground offensive by Iran-backed Houthi forces against Saudi-backed government troops reportedly killing hundreds of people. UN figures show that at least 145,000 people have been displaced in Yemen this month alone.
After more than a decade of civil war, Yemen’s healthcare infrastructure is already severely weakened. WHO Emergency Director for the Eastern Mediterranean region Annette Heinzelmann warned that the latest violence is placing additional pressure on a system struggling to provide basic medical services.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Cairo, Heinzelmann cited damaged medical infrastructure, insecurity, shortages of medicines and supplies, displacement of healthcare workers and restricted access to parts of Yemen’s western coast as major obstacles to treatment.
She said nine health facilities or medical assets in the worst-affected areas of Taiz, Lahj and Hodeidah had been damaged, closed, rendered unusable or directly attacked.
Emergency medical services are also being stretched by the growing number of wounded. Heinzelmann said comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn services had been suspended at two hospitals in Marib and Ras Al-Arah after staff and operating capacity were redirected towards treating trauma patients.
Even before the latest escalation, only about 60 percent of Yemen’s health facilities were fully operational, according to WHO.
The country is also confronting a serious disease burden. WHO figures show nearly 8,000 suspected cholera cases and 22 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the year. More than 9,600 suspected dengue cases have also been recorded, including 37 deaths.
Measles is another growing concern, with more than 22,000 suspected cases and 128 deaths reported this year, according to the WHO.
The health agency warned that overcrowding, poor sanitation, displacement and restricted access to clean water could accelerate the spread of infectious diseases, particularly cholera.
WHO said it had delivered nearly 60 tonnes of medical supplies to 40 healthcare facilities across 10 Yemeni governorates. However, several critical supplies at its Aden warehouse, including trauma kits and essential medicines, have already run out.
The agency has so far secured only $2 million of the $9 million required for its emergency response and is appealing for additional funding as Yemen’s humanitarian and health crises continue to worsen.
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