By Destiny Obinna
The World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up its emergency health response in Yemen as an escalating conflict leaves hundreds dead, thousands injured and nearly 130,000 people displaced, putting an already fragile health system under unprecedented pressure.
According to the latest WHO assessment, 674 people had been killed and 2,998 injured as of September 18, with 680 casualties recorded in just six days between September 13 and 18.
The proportion of deaths among reported casualties also rose sharply from 17 per cent to 24 per cent. On September 15 alone, deaths exceeded injuries — a development WHO said may indicate limited access to timely trauma and surgical care.
The crisis has also triggered mass displacement, with nearly 130,000 people forced from their homes across eight governorates by September 15.
About 3,500 people have crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into Djibouti, arriving mainly through Obock. More than half of those crossing are women and children.
Hospitals overwhelmed
Hospitals in the worst-affected areas are receiving a growing number of casualties while struggling with shortages of essential medicines, surgical supplies, blood and critical-care capacity.
Damage to health facilities and key transport routes has further complicated the movement of patients and medical supplies, disrupting ambulance referrals and access to emergency treatment.
WHO said it had delivered three rounds of emergency medical supplies to frontline hospitals as part of efforts to keep critical services running.
An initial shipment delivered to Marib General Hospital Authority on August 7 contained medicines, antibiotics and surgical supplies estimated to cover between 5,000 and 8,000 patients.
A second shipment, delivered on August 31, provided trauma and emergency supplies to hospitals in Taiz, Hadramout Al-Wadi and Al-Dhale’e, enough for an estimated 1,500 trauma cases.
Additional emergency supplies were delivered to hospitals in Aden on September 13 and to Marib on September 16 and 17.
WHO is also procuring 20,000 blood bags for the National Blood Transfusion Centre and referral hospitals, while mobilising further emergency supplies through local and international procurement channels and its Dubai logistics hub.
$7m Funding Gap
The UN health agency said US$490,000 from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies had been approved for the latest conflict escalation.
The funds will support trauma and surgical care, ambulance and referral services, emergency medical teams, medical supplies, disease surveillance and outbreak response.
But the broader emergency response faces a significant funding shortfall.
Under Scenario 2 of the joint response plan, WHO and partners require US$9 million to respond to the escalation. Only US$2 million has so far been secured or pledged through the Central Emergency Response Fund and the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
That leaves a US$7 million, or 78 per cent, funding gap.
Without additional funding, WHO warned that efforts to expand trauma and intensive-care capacity, strengthen referrals, deploy mobile medical teams, support displaced communities and prepare for disease outbreaks will remain constrained.
Fragile Health System Under Strain
The latest violence is hitting a health system already operating far below capacity.
WHO said only 60 per cent of 5,415 assessed health service delivery units across Yemen are fully functioning, while full trauma-care services are available in just 6 per cent of facilities.
Nearly 69 per cent of operational health facilities depend on support from humanitarian partners, even as the number of health partners is declining because of funding shortages.
The combination of rising casualties, displacement and shrinking humanitarian capacity is placing additional pressure on hospitals and emergency services.
WHO said nine health facilities or health-care assets in Taiz, Lahj and Al-Hodeidah had been damaged, closed or rendered inoperable by September 18.
The agency is verifying the incidents as potential attacks on health care.
Access from Aden to the west coast has also been disrupted, while difficult and volatile routes are making patient referrals and the resupply of hospitals increasingly difficult.
WHO Prepares for Wider Escalation
WHO is working with Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population, the Health Cluster and other partners to coordinate the response, verify casualty figures, map frontline facilities and strengthen patient referrals and emergency medical team support.
The agency said it is also monitoring potential triggers for a further escalation and preparing alternative supply and referral routes.
Under the current Scenario 2 plan, a broader escalation across six frontline and five referral governorates could result in 2,000 to 7,000 injuries, 400 to 1,400 deaths and between 150,000 and 350,000 people being displaced.
WHO and its partners are monitoring the situation daily and preparing additional emergency capacity should the conflict intensify.
The agency’s response comes as Yemen’s health system faces a widening gap between humanitarian needs and available resources, with hospitals confronting rising casualties while struggling to secure the staff, blood, medicines and equipment needed to keep critically ill and wounded patients alive.
