Yemen’s displaced people face growing healthcare crisis as fighting disrupts medical services

LONDON: More than 100,000 people have been forced from their homes in Yemen as fighting and shifting front lines disrupt access to essential healthcare, with damaged medical facilities, overstretched services and closed roads leaving displaced families struggling to access treatment.

Aid organizations say thousands of families are fleeing intensified airstrikes, shelling and armed clashes across the country, often arriving in safer areas without basic necessities or reliable access to healthcare.

The latest escalation is placing further pressure on a health system already weakened by more than a decade of conflict, economic crisis and cuts to international aid. More than 22 million people, around two-thirds of Yemen’s population, already need humanitarian assistance, while more than 5.2 million are internally displaced, according to humanitarian agencies.

Islamic Relief said thousands more families were being displaced every day in Taiz, Lahj and Aden as airstrikes, shelling and armed clashes intensified.

Many are fleeing without shelter, food, water, clothing or access to medical care, the organization said, adding that it was preparing to provide assistance to displaced families.

The latest displacement is unfolding against the backdrop of an already severe humanitarian crisis. Essential services including healthcare and water supplies are severely overstretched, while cuts to international aid have forced some critical services to shut down, according to Islamic Relief.

For Medecins Sans Frontieres, the impact is particularly clear in the western city of Mokha, where fighting and shifting front lines are disrupting both healthcare services and the movement of patients.

Marc Schakal, operational cell manager and humanitarian leader for MSF, told Arab News that Mokha General Hospital, where the organization operates, is currently the only functioning health facility in the area.

Its capacity has been reduced because some staff have left and some patients are staying away because of security concerns, Schakal said.

Houthi forces took control of Mokha and other parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in recent days, while targeted airstrikes and sporadic clashes continue around the city, he said.

Road access remains unstable, while airstrikes have also recently targeted Mokha’s airport.

MSF is engaging with the Houthis to secure space to maintain its medical activities in the city, Schakal said.

“We try to continue to provide the basic health services where we are,” he said.

Schakal said many health facilities had been damaged or put out of service by fighting over the past 10 days, forcing people to travel further to access medical care.

MSF has also seen patients wounded in the conflict arriving at hospitals in Aden, he said.

One of the biggest challenges is the disruption to the medical referral system.

“There is a big challenge on the referral corridor,” Schakal said.

Patients are often stabilized at one facility before being transferred to a hospital where they can receive more advanced care. However, those transfers are being jeopardized by the conflict, with some roads closed and families forced to travel further to find treatment.

“The families who are moving, displaced by the conflict, they come without any belongings,” Schakal said.

He said displaced people were also facing risks linked to sanitation, access to food and the spread of disease among unvaccinated children.

The situation also poses particular risks for pregnant women who may require emergency obstetric care while being forced to move between areas.

“The situation is rather difficult for the moment for many of these people,” Schakal said.

The latest escalation is unfolding across several of Yemen’s western and southern fronts, including Taiz and areas along the Red Sea coast.

The western city of Mokha lies on the Red Sea, close to the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a major maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The recent fighting along the coast has therefore raised concerns beyond the immediate battlefield, as the area sits alongside one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

Further south, Aden is a key hub for Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a major center for humanitarian and medical operations. The arrival of displaced people there and in surrounding governorates is placing additional pressure on already overstretched services.

The current escalation follows years of relative calm along many of Yemen’s front lines. The conflict dates back to the Houthi takeover of Sanaa in 2014.

A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 sharply reduced large-scale fighting but did not produce a lasting political settlement. Although the truce formally expired later that year, many of the measures that reduced hostilities broadly held and front lines remained relatively stable.

Humanitarian groups have warned that the latest escalation could rapidly reverse those gains.

The UN’s 2026 humanitarian plan has warned of major needs in healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene, with damaged infrastructure and limited services increasing health risks.

MSF is preparing an emergency response plan with the hospital it supports in Aden and is ready to scale up its work in Mokha if the number of patients increases, Schakal said.

The organization is preparing for two possible scenarios. An increase in wounded people arriving at hospitals in safer areas such as Aden, and a further rise in displacement that could overwhelm communities and services in areas receiving them.

“The other scenario is increasing number of displaced people that might really create a big burden and a crisis on the places where they would be located,” Schakal said.

MSF is monitoring the movement of the front lines to anticipate where support would be most needed.

“For the moment it’s not stable, so it’s difficult to have a clear view,” Schakal said.