Yemen escalation fuels fears of further cholera, measles spread
Heavy fighting in Yemen has suspended emergency healthcare in two hospitals and disrupted disease control, with WHO warning of rising cholera, measles and malnutrition amid dwindling supplies and overcrowded displacement sites.
Heavy fighting in Yemen has forced the suspension of comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care in two hospitals, Marib and Ras Al-Arah, as staff and resources are redirected to trauma care for the wounded, according to Dr. Annette Heinzelmann, WHO Regional Emergency Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. More than 20 mobile medical teams supported by WHO have been deployed across priority governorates where displaced people have arrived, while nearly 60 tonnes of medical supplies worth $656,000 have been sent to 40 facilities in 10 governorates. However, several lifesaving supply lines in WHO’s Aden warehouse, including trauma kits and essential medicines, are already exhausted.
Nine health facilities have been damaged or directly attacked, primarily near Taiz, Lahj and Hudaydah, disrupting critical services. Displaced families urgently require maternal and child healthcare, nutrition relief, vaccination and mental health support, as only about 60 per cent of health facilities were fully functional even before the recent escalation. Cholera is already present with 7,800 suspected cases and 22 deaths reported this year, while fears of an outbreak are rising due to unsafe water and poor sanitation at temporary shelters.
Renewed clashes in southwest Yemen since 6 August have left more than 4,481 casualties, including 830 deaths, according to health authorities in Aden. The fighting has displaced over 180,000 people, with Houthi forces taking control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and reportedly imposing a blockade on shipping from Saudi Arabia. WHO reports growing health needs in Djibouti, where over 3,600 Yemenis have arrived since 10 September, nearly half of them children, with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 more expected in the coming weeks.
The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has warned of critical hunger levels among children affected by the conflict, with more than one in four of nearly 2,900 screened children acutely malnourished and around 200 suffering from severe acute malnutrition. WHO has also linked dengue to 37 deaths in Yemen, while over 22,000 measles cases have been identified. The agency stressed that displaced families face urgent needs for healthcare, nutrition and protection as the humanitarian crisis deepens.