UNICEF Yemen: Health, Hope, and a Hard Road Ahead - Inside Yemen’s Community Clinics

In Habil Jabr District of Lahj Governorate in Yemen, a modest maternal and child health center has become a lifeline for families navigating poverty, displacement, and decades of fragility. Once under-resourced and overlooked, the facility now reflects a broader national shift. Yemen’s primary healthcare system, which was long at risk of collapse, is being slowly but meaningfully rebuilt, thanks in part to support from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).

“Now Everything Is Here”: Mothers Reclaim Access to Care

On a busy morning, Zeinab Mohammed arrives at the center with her toddler in two. “He received the measles and polio vaccines, vitamins, and was treated for a fever,” she says, holding the child close. “Before, we had to travel far, and we couldn’t afford hospital fees or medicine. But this center is free and safe.”

Zainab’s experience is a direct result of recent investments in frontline care. Between December 2024 and March 2025, 150 facilities across Yemen, including this one, received operational support from KFAED. Essential supplies, such as disinfectants, soap, thermometers, and stationery were restocked, creating safer, cleaner, and more functional spaces.

From Shortages to Stability: How Health Workers Are Rebuilding Services

The changes are visible to staff as well. “We faced extremely difficult conditions,” says Qat Mohammed, the center’s reproductive Health Officer. “There were no supplies, and we couldn’t maintain hygiene standards. Now, we have vaccines, a safe work environment, and more regular services.”

Still, the clinic is under strain. “We urgently need more staff,” she adds. “One day, a mother came from a remote village after giving birth at home. She’d retained the placenta and had urinary retention. We barely managed to stabilize her in time.”

Her story highlights how frontline teams are managing, not just routine immunizations, but critical interventions with limited resources. Between late 2024 and early 2025, UNICEF – through KFAED funding – distributed primary healthcare kits to 288 facilities, replenished national vaccine stocks with over 1 million doses of BCG and 200,000 tetanus-diphtheria vaccines, and trained health workers in infection prevention and case management.

Investing in Systems, Not Just Supplies

Balqis Abdulhamid, the center’s director, says the difference is night and day. “Before, childcare and nutrition services were almost nonexistent. Cases of pneumonia and diarrhea were common. They’ve dropped significantly since vaccines have become available.”

Little by little, the community’s trust is returning. “People from nearby villages have started coming here,” says Mohammed Othman, a father of two. “This is our second visit. Before, many services were missing. Now, everything is here, and the doctors are kind.”

Dedication Beyond the Paycheck

That trust isn’t just built on medicine. It’s built on presence, consistency, and a team that continues to show up despite long hours, limited pay, and daily challenges.

“During cholera outbreaks, we received supplies that allowed us to continue serving people. We even managed to save a child with severe malnutrition thanks to the nutrition kits we received,” explained Zainab.

Still, Zainab is clear-eyed about what’s at stake. “We need more training and ongoing support. If it stops, we could return to square one.”

Recovery, Renewal, and the Road Ahead

While challenges remain, what’s unfolding in Habil Jabr – and in centers like it across Yemen – is not just recovery, but renewal. These facilities are doing more than treating fevers and delivering vaccines. They are reestablishing the foundations of Yemen’s primary healthcare system, brick by brick, in a country where access to care has long been fractured by conflict and displacement.

For communities where the cost of transportation, medication, or a single consultation can exceed a family’s monthly income, these clinics are a rare constant. They offer not only essential medical services, but something just as vital: proximity, predictability, dignity, and hope.

With every child that’s vaccinated and every mother who’s treated close to home, trust in the public health system grows stronger. And when that trust takes root, it creates ripple effects like improved health-seeking behaviors, reduced mortality, and greater community resilience during crises.

This progress, made possible through KFAED’s targeted investment, is a reminder that even modest inputs, if strategically delivered, can result in outsized impacts. But sustaining it requires more than one-off interventions. It calls for continued coordination, capacity-building, and committed partnership.

“When we see children recover and mothers smile, we feel peace of mind,” says Qat. “That’s what humanitarian work is really about.”