Yemen’s renewed civil war is placing further pressure on an already fragile healthcare system, with hospitals overwhelmed by wounded patients, medical supplies running short and health workers struggling to maintain essential services.

Seven-year-old Tarek al-Salami is among those caught up in the worsening crisis. Suffering from malnutrition and diarrhea, Tarek’s condition deteriorated after his father carried him on foot from the southwestern city of Mokha as Iran-backed Houthi rebels advanced earlier this month.

The family eventually reached Aden, a government-held city about 270 kilometers away, but the hospital they approached had no available beds because it was overwhelmed with wounded patients. Tarek was eventually taken to a therapeutic feeding center, where doctors described him as being in an acute crisis. He began walking again more than a week after his arrival.

His father, Mohammed al-Salami, said the experience had been devastating as he watched his son become increasingly weak.

The Associated Press spoke with patients, medical workers and humanitarian organizations in Yemen and abroad as the renewed fighting disrupted healthcare services. Some facilities have been taken over by the conflict, while others have been forced to turn away pregnant women and other patients to prioritize those suffering combat-related injuries.

The escalation has affected millions of people as Iran-backed Houthis advance against government forces supported by Saudi Arabia. More than 130,000 people have fled their homes, according to the report.

The feeding center treating Tarek is also struggling with an increase in patients in a country where food insecurity and malnutrition were already widespread. Its director, Dr. Arwa Atef, said the facility was struggling to keep up with demand.

The United Nations said most hospitals and primary health centers affected by the latest escalation closed during the first 48 hours before reopening. However, access to some facilities has become more difficult after the Houthis seized parts of the Red Sea coast, including key ports used for humanitarian supplies.

The World Health Organization said fewer than 10% of affected health centers are fully equipped with the trauma services required to treat wounded patients. As a result, medical facilities are being forced to make difficult decisions about which patients can receive treatment.

Pregnancy-related care has also been severely affected. Francesco Galtieri of the United Nations Population Fund said fewer facilities were able to handle obstetric emergencies, despite the fact that pregnancy-related complications were already contributing to the deaths of about three Yemeni women each day before the latest escalation.

About 2,000 pregnant women are among those displaced by the fighting, with more than 200 expected to give birth in the following week or so, according to Galtieri.

In hospitals near the fighting, some maternity wards have been converted into emergency rooms, said Hashem Osseiran, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Medical facilities are also facing shortages of anesthesia, oxygen and sterile surgical gloves.

At Martyr Mohamed Hayel hospital in the government-held city of Marib, doctors have seen an increase in emergency maternity cases as other hospitals concentrate on treating people wounded in the fighting. The hospital lacks intensive-care specialists and does not have enough generators to keep all departments operating during power outages.

A midwife said the number of births handled by the hospital had roughly doubled to about 80. She described one case involving a woman with an ectopic pregnancy who arrived suffering heavy bleeding. Despite limited resources, medical staff were able to perform an emergency procedure and save her life.

Yemen’s healthcare system was already under severe pressure before the latest fighting. Hospitals relied heavily on limited government funding and donations, while some struggled to pay their employees.

Fahd al-Nazari, manager of the health office in Taiz province, said the situation had become critical as the area received large numbers of newly displaced people. He warned that some facilities could be forced to close within days if conditions continued to deteriorate.

Three of Taiz province’s 17 hospitals were no longer under government control, according to al-Nazari. Hospitals throughout the province had treated about 635 casualties, including 112 bodies, after the Houthis captured Mokha. The casualties included both civilians and combatants.

Medical supplies and fuel have also become increasingly difficult to obtain after major supply routes between Mokha and Taiz were largely cut off. Convoys have been forced to use mountainous roads that are unsuitable for large trucks, further complicating efforts to resupply hospitals.

At the Yemeni-Swedish Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Taiz, incubators were full and two or three children were reportedly sharing beds in the emergency department. Hospital manager Sami al-Sharabi said staff were also concerned about the possibility of fighting reaching the facility, noting that parts of the building were already structurally weak.

Hospitals in Aden, where Yemen’s internationally recognized government is based, are also struggling to manage the influx of wounded people. Doctors Without Borders said more than 60 injured patients had been admitted to Al-Gamhouria hospital in one week, with many requiring urgent surgery or blood transfusions.

Medical facilities in Houthi-controlled areas are facing similar pressure. At a private hospital in Sanaa treating wounded rebels, two medical officials said the facility had been overwhelmed by hundreds of injured people. They spoke anonymously because of security concerns.

The full number of Houthi fighters killed or wounded remains unclear. Humanitarian organizations have limited access to rebel-controlled areas, where aid workers have faced arrests and harassment. The report also said the Houthis have struggled to pay government employees, including public-sector doctors, while tax revenues have largely been diverted toward their military operations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the few international organizations still operating in Sanaa, delivered 22 tons of medical supplies to support hospitals struggling with the number of wounded patients.

Information about casualties among government forces is also limited, although one government-allied group has reported that more than 1,500 of its fighters were wounded.

The conflict has also caused some medical workers to leave affected areas, making access to healthcare even more difficult. In Mokha, Doctors Without Borders said its small team continued working despite a severe shortage of health professionals, while three other hospitals in the city had closed temporarily before resuming services.

Emmanuel Massart, the charity’s deputy coordinator of operations in Yemen, said hospital funding and medical resources remained urgently needed. He also warned that closed roads were making the delivery of additional supplies increasingly difficult.

The renewed fighting has therefore added another layer of pressure to a healthcare system that was already struggling after years of conflict and humanitarian crisis.

SOURCE: Associated Press, Fatma Khaled, Ahmed Al-Haj and Cara Anna, updated September 25, 2026.