According to the December humanitarian update from OCHA, Yemen’s 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 25 percent funded, forcing aid agencies to scale back life-saving services across all sectors despite increasing needs. Health and protection services have been particularly affected, leaving vulnerable communities exposed to growing risks. The health system, already weakened by years of conflict and underinvestment, is described as “on the brink.”
Since January 2025, 453 health facilities across 22 governorates—including hospitals, primary health centres, and mobile clinics—have faced partial or imminent closure. These disruptions are occurring amid widespread food insecurity, malnutrition, unsafe water and sanitation, and recurring disease outbreaks. Funding shortfalls are impacting both areas controlled by the internationally recognised Government and those under the de facto Houthi authorities, demonstrating the nationwide reach of the crisis.
Millions of people now have reduced access to basic healthcare, maternal services, and emergency treatment. Food security and nutrition remain major concerns, with many families struggling to afford food or recover from climate shocks, including floods that hit Marib governorate earlier in 2025. While partners have continued to provide assistance where possible, reduced funding has constrained coverage at a critical time. Coordinated flood responses have shown that shock-responsive cash assistance can help families recover more quickly, but such approaches require sustained resources.
Despite the challenging situation, OCHA highlighted the ongoing importance of the Yemen Humanitarian Fund, which channels limited resources to priority, life-saving interventions. Community-based projects also play a key role in restoring dignity and resilience for displaced families.
Yemen has been devastated by more than a decade of conflict between Houthi rebels and the Government of Yemen, following the Houthis’ takeover of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Although large-scale fighting has eased in recent years, tensions remain high, and the risk of renewed hostilities persists, threatening to reverse fragile gains and further deepen humanitarian needs.
OCHA urged donors to increase support, warning that without urgent funding, additional service closures are likely, with potentially devastating consequences for Yemen’s most vulnerable populations.
