Indicators of deterioration in Yemen’s health sector are accelerating, amid UN warnings that the healthcare system is nearing the brink of collapse due to wide funding gaps and mounting operational constraints. This threatens to deprive millions of people of even the minimum level of essential healthcare services.

In its latest report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that Yemen’s fragile health system is experiencing rapid decline as a result of reduced funding and ongoing operational restrictions, jeopardizing the continuity of service delivery. This comes alongside the worsening of food insecurity and malnutrition, the deterioration of water and sanitation services, and the widening spread of diseases.
The report stated that at least 453 health facilities across various governorates—including 177 primary healthcare centers, 200 health units, 76 hospitals, and 18 mobile clinics—are at risk of partial or imminent closure during 2025.

OCHA noted that the vast majority of facilities at risk of closure are located in areas under the Sana’a-Based Authorities (SBA), totaling 328 facilities, compared to 143 facilities in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government (IRG). This situation was attributed to declining funding and restrictions imposed on humanitarian operations.

The report further indicated that funding for the health sector has not exceeded 47.5 percent, contributing to the deprivation of millions of Yemenis of life-saving health services. The crisis has been further exacerbated by the non-payment of salaries to healthcare workers, fuel shortages, and the persistent lack of medicines, all of which have intensified the country’s deteriorating health conditions.

The UN office warned that an additional 2,300 health facilities—particularly in areas under the Sana’a authorities—could lose the support necessary to continue providing basic services if funding continues to decline at the current pace, placing them at risk of complete closure.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in Sana’a called on the United Nations to review its working mechanisms and correct the course of its humanitarian performance, warning against exploiting the suffering of the Yemeni people in non-humanitarian contexts.

A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying that the warnings issued by OCHA regarding the pressures facing the humanitarian response in Yemen due to funding cuts do not, in his words, stem from purely humanitarian considerations, and called for keeping the humanitarian file free from any political manipulation.