Aden, Yemen In Yemen, emergencies arrive without warning – and often in numbers that overwhelm fragile health systems. Across Marib and Taiz, hospitals are receiving a steady flow of patients injured by road traffic crashes, explosions and gunfire. Many arrive in critical condition. For them, survival depends on minutes: on whether trained teams are available, operating theatres are functional and essential supplies are within reach. At Marib General Hospital, one of the country’s busiest referral facilities, trauma cases frequently arrive in waves. Dr Abdulrab Al-Salihi, a general surgery consultant who has worked at the hospital since its establishment, describes the pressure facing frontline teams: “Sometimes we receive 5 to 15 critical cases at the same time – from traffic accidents, explosions, or shootings. We must triage immediately and act fast to save lives.”Marib now hosts one of the largest populations of internally displaced people in Yemen, placing extraordinary strain on already stretched health services. Despite these challenges, emergency surgeries continue around the clock – saving women, young adults and families arriving with little more than hope.According to Abdulkareem Ali Hussein Hamid, Acting Chairman of the Marib Hospital Authority, recent support has made a tangible difference in how emergencies are managed. He explains that the presence of supported surgical teams has reduced waiting times and improved staff efficiency in handling complex and critical cases, strengthening the hospital’s overall emergency response capacity.These gains are being sustained through strengthened emergency systems supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), with funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), helping ensure that operating theatres remain functional and life-saving care continues when it is needed most. Between October and December 2025, this support translated into tangible, life-saving impact across three referral hospitals—Al Thawrah and Al Gamhouri hospitals in Taiz, and Marib General Hospital. More than 700 surgical procedures were performed, restoring mobility and saving lives, while 3,572 patients received critical consultations, triaging, and timely care. For frontline staff, however, impact is not measured in numbers alone, but in lives touched. Salma Abdulilah Abdullah Shard, a pharmacist at Marib General Hospital, recalls a moment that continues to define her work: “A child was brought to the emergency room with no heartbeat. The team continued resuscitation for more than 40 minutes. When the heartbeat returned, it felt as if life itself had been restored.”Hundreds of kilometres away, the same urgency defines care at Al-Thawra General Hospital in Taiz. Once severely damaged by years of conflict – some facilities losing up to 80–90% of their capacity – the hospital is gradually restoring emergency and surgical services and now serves patients from four neighbouring governorates.For patients, the impact of improved emergency care is immediate and deeply personal. Ibrahim Ali Ghaleb, who was rushed to Al-Thawra Hospital after a serious road accident, recalls the speed and coordination of the response: “All the doctors came immediately and worked as one team. I was treated, taken to surgery and cared for without neglect. This hospital saves lives and needs continued support.”Across both Marib and Taiz, emergency trauma care remains fragile – but operational. Surgeons work through the night, pharmacists manage scarce supplies and generators keep operating theatres running during power cuts.With ECHO’s support, these hospitals are not only responding to emergencies – they are restoring trust, dignity and the chance of survival for people injured by conflict and displacement.In a country where every minute can decide a life, this support is not optional.
It is lifesaving.

By:Written by Haithm Abdulbaqi | Media and Communications AssistantEdited by Mennatallah Homaid | Senior Communications AssistantMa’rib, Yemen In Al Jufainah, one of Yemen’s largest displacement sites, more than 16,000 families continue to live far from their places of origin, navigating prolonged displacement, fragile shelter conditions, and limited livelihood opportunities. For many, each season brings renewed uncertainty, as sudden shocks such as heavy rains and flooding compound existing vulnerabilities. During such times—when families struggle to provide, endure hardship, and maintain stability—support that helps meet basic needs with dignity becomes crucial.Ahmed was displaced from Al Jarrahi District in Al Hodeidah Governorate four years ago, after insecurity, ongoing conflict, and the collapse of economic opportunities made it impossible for his family to remain. Seeking safety and a sense of stability, he moved with his wife and three children to Al Jufainah, where they continue to live in displacement.Life in displacement has brought persistent challenges. Each morning, Ahmed walks into Ma’rib city to his small cobbler’s stall—his sole source of income. Working from a modest, makeshift space, he repairs worn shoes, earning just enough on some days to cover basic needs. The irregular income leaves the family vulnerable to even minor disruptions. “I cannot read or write, and neither can my wife,” Ahmed said quietly. “I don’t want my children to grow up the same way.” Despite his efforts to prioritize their education, he and his family continue to live in extremely fragile conditions. Their shelter offers little protection against harsh weather, and Ahmed’s limited income is rarely enough to consistently cover food, safe water, and school supplies. Like many displaced families in Al Jufainah, they live with the constant fear that one unexpected shock could undo what little stability they have managed to build.Three months ago, heavy rains swept across Ma’rib, continuing late into the night and triggering flooding in parts of Al Jufainah displacement site. For Ahmed’s family, the impact was immediate. Water began seeping into their shelter, soaking their belongings and leaving them exposed to the storm.“That night, my wife and I kept praying the rain would stop,” Ahmed recalled. “The water kept rising inside the tent. I carried my youngest child in my arms, asking God to protect us until it ended.” By morning, families across Al Jufainah were surveying the damage left by the floods, many having lost food and basic household items overnight. With shelters inundated and urgent needs unmet, community members sought help wherever they could. Bassam, a site mobilizer, visited affected households—including Ahmed’s—and quickly reported urgent cases to response teams. Shortly after, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) deployed field staff to conduct rapid assessments, determined which families required immediate support, providing both reassurance and essential aid.“They took my information and made sure we were safe,” Ahmed said. “The next day, they gave us a food basket. It was exactly what we needed.”Following the initial response, IOM’s field team returned to Ahmed’s shelter to assess the full impact of the flooding. Based on this assessment, he qualified for emergency support and was enrolled in the Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance programme—a response designed to help households recover from sudden shocks while giving families the flexibility to prioritize their own needs.Shortly afterward, Ahmed received a text informing him that money was waiting for him at the bank. Unable to read it himself, he asked a friend to explain.“I was told there was money waiting for me at the bank,” he said. “It felt like a mountain was lifted off my chest.” Ahmed received around $170 through the Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance programme. With the cash, he was able to take his youngest son to a doctor after the child was hit by a motorcycle inside the site.“The driver didn’t have money either,” Ahmed explained. “I didn’t pressure him. I just needed to make sure my son was treated.”He also used part of the cash to purchase a small stove and school supplies for his daughter. “Education is the most important thing for my children,” he said. “This assistance helped me protect that.” Just a few blocks away, 21-year-old Kamal Abdullah vividly recalls that night. Displaced from Ta’iz, he has been living in Ma’rib for seven years, initially with his grandmother before marrying and starting his own family. During the storm, he, his wife, and three children huddled inside their shelter, fearing it might not withstand the heavy rain and winds.“The wind was so strong, and my children were terrified,” Kamal said. “My wife and I were worried our shelter would collapse. I held them close until the rain stopped, praying we could move them somewhere safer.”When he heard that IOM teams were assessing families affected by the floods, Kamal left his shelter in search of help. There, he met Mohammed, an IOM field assistant working in Al Jufainah. “I told him what happened,” Kamal said. “He came into our shelter and saw the damage—the roof leaking, our food soaked, and all our rations and clothes ruined. He listened carefully, took my information, and promised to follow up soon.” The next day, Kamal received an emergency response package through the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), including food, clean water, blankets, and hygiene items. This critical support helped his family survive the immediate impact, protect their health, and begin stabilizing their living conditions.These response packages are part of a coordinated effort by IOM, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Under this first-line response mechanism, UNFPA provides Dignity Kits, UNICEF provides Hygiene Kits, the World Food Programme (WFP) provides Food Baskets, and IOM takes the lead in distributing these packages and providing one-off Emergency Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA)—a vital lifeline that gives families the flexibility and dignity to address their most urgent needs and regain stability after a crisis.Building on this support, Kamal received Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance, enabling him to prioritize his family’s most pressing needs and take charge of their recovery. “I realized with the money I could make a change, finally,” he said. “Instead of searching for work every day, I borrowed a little more money and started a small grocery shop.” Kamal’s shop is modest: a small iron shelter stocked with soft drinks, children’s snacks, and a few basic food items. His wife works alongside him, restocking shelves and assisting customers. “It’s humble,” Kamal said with a smile, “but one day it will be bigger, Inshallah.”The Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance programme, funded by the European Aid (ECHO), supports families during sudden crises across Yemen, providing critical aid to more than 2,100 households nationwide, including 664 in Ma’rib Governorate.Today, Ahmed continues to fix shoes to keep his children in school, while Kamal and his wife gradually expand their small grocery shop. Despite ongoing challenges in Al Jufainah, families—like Ahmed and Kamal’s—are regaining stability and control over their lives, one step at a time.

Aden, Yemen In Yemen’s remote high-altitude valleys, communities have lived for generations with sowda, a severe form of onchocerciasis (commonly known as “river blindness”), that causes debilitating skin disease, stigma and long-term suffering. Years of conflict, rugged terrain and chronic funding gaps have left many families without access to treatment.   In 2025, that reality began to change. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Public Health and Population, and with technical and operational support from WHO, Yemen implemented one of its most ambitious onchocerciasis mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns yet – reaching populations long considered unreachable.Reflecting on this shift, Dr Ali Al-Waleedi, Deputy Minister for the Primary Health Care Sector, observes that for decades entire families had lived with sowda without ever receiving treatment. He says the campaign fundamentally changed that reality, as health teams crossed mountains, facing insecurity and isolation, to reach every household – demonstrating that no community in Yemen is unreachable when commitment and the right strategy come together.In December 2025, WHO supported the Ministry of Public Health and Population to redesign the MDA approach, moving from static distribution points to an intensive door-to-door strategy across 10 high-priority districts in Hajjah and Al-Mahweet governorates and 6 highly-endemic districts of Taiz governorate. Despite the difficult terrain and insecurity, the adapted approach achieved full geographical access, reaching 91% population coverage in Hajjah and Al-Mahweet and 86.5% in Taiz – well above the WHO-recommended 80% threshold for effective disease control.Community leadership proved decisive. Dr Ahmed Thabit, National Professional Officer at WHO Yemen, highlights that the campaign was driven by communities themselves. With WHO’s guidance, local volunteers – especially women – became the backbone of implementation, building trust, entering homes that had never been reached before and ensuring every dose protected a life. In Hajjah and Al-Mahweet, 419 community health volunteers, more than half of them women, safely administered over 732 000 donated Mectizan® tablets, protecting hundreds of thousands of people from infection.Sustaining these gains amid shrinking resources was equally critical. Earlier, in September 2025, WHO had worked closely with the Ministry of Public Health and Population and partners to prevent a dangerous interruption of MDA activities in the 6 highly-endemic districts of Taiz. Dr Nasreen, Director of the Negelected Tropical Disease Programme at the Minsitry, notes that at a time when funding gaps threatened to reverse years of progress, maintaining treatment was essential to prevent resurgence. By optimizing limited resources and using 470 179 donated Mectizan® tablets, the campaign safeguarded hard-won gains and kept Yemen on track toward eliminating onchocerciasis as a public health problem by 2030.Together, these efforts show that elimination is possible – even in conflict-affected and resource-constrained settings. By adapting delivery strategies, empowering communities and sustaining partnerships, WHO and the Ministry of Public Health and Population continue to translate global commitments into life-changing impact for Yemen’s most vulnerable populations.These achievements prove that with targeted investment, adaptive strategies and community leadership, even the most complex challenges can be overcome. By sustaining treatment, empowering volunteers and protecting hard-won gains, WHO and the Ministry of Public Health and Population are keeping Yemen on track to eliminate onchocerciasis as a public health problem by 2030. Continued financial support from partners – through the integration of vector control and MDA activities for all neglected tropical diseases – is critical to ensure that progress is not only maintained but accelerated until elimination is reached.

Abyan and Al Dale' Governorates, Yemen In Yemen, where pregnancy and childbirth can quickly become life-threatening, a woman’s survival often depends on something she never sees: whether essential medicines are available when she needs them most. Behind every emergency intervention is a supply system working quietly in the background, ensuring that life-saving reproductive health supplies reach health facilities across the country.In Abyan and Al Dale’ governorates, reproductive health warehouses play a central role in keeping this system running. In Abyan, supplies are distributed to 169 health facilities across 11 districts. In Al Dale’, medicines from the warehouse serve between 3,000 and 4,000 women every month. Yet for years, poor infrastructure threatened their ability to function. Leaking roofs, frequent power outages and extreme heat compromised storage conditions, putting temperature-sensitive medicines such as oxytocin–an essential drug used to control bleeding during and after childbirth–at risk.“Parts of the roof started falling on us while we were working,” recalls Dr. Somaya Mohammed Ahmed, a UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, Reproductive Health Supply Officer in Abyan. Supply chains behind life-saving careTo address these challenges, UNFPA, with funding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the UNFPA Supplies Partnership, and in collaboration with local partner Field Medical Foundation (FMF), supported the rehabilitation of reproductive health warehouses in both governorates. The renovations tackled long-standing structural damage, improved storage conditions and introduced reliable power solutions to protect critical medicines.In Al Dale’, warehouse manager Dr. Ali Abdullah Saleh describes the transformation. “Before, there was no proper lighting or cooling, and rainwater damaged the medicines. Now the warehouse is protected, the temperature is stable and supplies can be stored safely.”  From storage to facilitiesThe impact of these improvements is felt far beyond the warehouse walls. By ensuring medicines are stored correctly and distributed on time, the strengthened supply chain supports health workers on the front lines—where shortages or delays can cost lives.At the Reproductive Health and Maternity Centre in Zinjibar District, Abyan Governorate–supported by UNFPA with local partner FMF–that reliability saved the life of Sajda Nasser, 32. Already weakened by a complicated pregnancy, Sajda began bleeding heavily while travelling back from a remote area. By the time she reached the health centre, she had lost her baby and was in shock and unconscious.“I don’t remember anything,” she says. “I only heard the doctors saying, ‘She died, she died.’” When medicines are available, women surviveSajda was given oxytocin to control the bleeding, along with intravenous fluids to stabilize her condition. The medicines were available on site and had been stored at the correct temperature, ensuring their effectiveness.“When medicines are available, we can respond quickly and save lives,” Midwife Waheba explains. “When they are not, families have to search outside the facility, and that delay can be fatal.” Most maternal deaths she witnesses at the centre, whether following childbirth or after a miscarriage, are caused by bleeding. Sajda survived. Today, she has regained her strength and plans to return to the centre for family planning services, which—like all care provided at the facility—are free of charge. “If this centre did not exist, I believe I would have died,” she says. In a country where around three women die every day from pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes, and where the majority of these deaths are preventable with timely access to quality care, investments in infrastructure are investments in women’s lives. By supporting the rehabilitation of reproductive health warehouses, funding from the Netherlands is helping to ensure that essential medicines reach health facilities safely and reliably—protecting mothers, strengthening health systems and saving lives.