Yemen’s health ministry has warned that a sharp decline in foreign funding threatens efforts to fight infectious diseases such as measles, polio and diphtheria, in a country where war has destroyed its health infrastructure and weakened its ability to fight successive disease outbreaks.
However, the legitimate Yemeni government, with Saudi support through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) and international partners, was able to restore operations to more than 3,000 health facilities and prevent the health sector from collapsing.
The ministry said external support has fallen by more than 65% this year, impairing the health sector’s ability to respond to disease outbreaks.
More than 23,000 measles cases and 214 people died in Yemen last year alone, amid concerns that the outbreak could spread further in areas where vaccination rates are low.
Ali Al-Walidi, Deputy Minister of Public Health and Population Primary Health Care, noted that the health sector has faced major challenges over the past 11 years due to the war waged by the Houthis, with health facilities suffering extensive damage and health services declining by less than 50 percent.
The ministry said that with support from KSrelief, the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it had succeeded in maintaining the health system and preventing collapse, while restoring operations to more than 3,200 health facilities, representing about 60% of all health centers in the country.
Al-Walidi added that the ministry has worked to compensate for the shortage of health workers caused by wartime casualties and the emigration of health workers abroad by training and qualifying new staff and ensuring the continuity of essential health services in many regions.
Vaccination challenges
The official warned that despite Yemen being certified polio-free by the WHO in 2009, the Houthis’ ban on vaccination campaigns in areas they control has led to a resurgence of polio, with about 30 cases recorded last year.
He revealed that the Ministry of Health has carried out several polio vaccination campaigns in liberated provinces and no cases have been recorded this year, while continuing routine immunization programs to reach children in different regions, especially in remote areas and concentration camps.
A UN report recorded around 23,000 measles infections and 214 deaths last year, particularly in Taiz, Hodeidah, Amran and Sa’ada provinces, and al-Walidi warned that measles, diphtheria and whooping cough are returning due to low vaccination rates in Houthi-controlled provinces, where vaccination campaigns have been suspended since 2023.
The official said the ministry had made routine vaccines available in all health facilities and carried out support campaigns to reach remote areas and displaced persons camps where children have difficulty accessing health centers.
The campaign covered 121 districts in 15 states and involved 8,538 health workers, providing a range of services related to vaccines, maternal and child health, nutrition and reproductive health.
funding reduction
Regarding the fever outbreak, officials said the National Malaria and Vector-Borne Disease Control Program, with support from KSrelief, implemented the intervention after seasonal rains.
However, he stressed that this year’s 65% reduction in external support for the health sector will have a negative impact on training and capacity-building programs, as well as the continued supply of medicines and medical equipment to health facilities.
In efforts to address the decline, he emphasized that the Ministry of Health is working with health sector partners to implement plans to fill the gaps created by the lack of funding, while maintaining coordination with KSrelief, WHO and UNICEF to ensure the continuity of essential health services and prevent disruption of immunization and epidemic control programs.
He added that as part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of the health sector to face the challenges of the coming years, the 2026-2030 Health Strategy, prepared in collaboration with the Geneva Institute and WHO, with support from the World Bank and the participation of the Ministry of Civil Service, the Department of Health and universities, will be published in July next year.
