Urgent action needed amid increasingly high malnutrition rates in Yemen

Malnutrition rates in Yemen remain alarmingly high as people’s medical needs are far exceeding the health care system’s capacity to treat them, said Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Between January 2022 and December 2024, MSF-supported facilities treated more than 35,000 malnourished children under the age of 5 across five governorates—Amran, Saada, Hajjah, Taiz, and Al Hudaydah—underscoring a deep humanitarian crisis. These figures reflect the ongoing struggle for families to buy food and access health care after years of conflict and instability, compounded by the country’s deteriorating economy.

“This is not the time for half-measures,” said Himedan Mohammed, head of operations for MSF in the Middle East. “Children are arriving in increasingly critical condition. People can no longer wait for help that simply isn’t coming fast enough. If we don’t act now by boosting nutrition programs, ensuring affordable transport to health facilities, and bringing care closer to people in need then we risk an even greater surge of malnutrition in the months ahead.”

MSF has been running therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen since 2010 and has been treating a steadily increasing number of children with malnutrition over the past three years. While MSF has scaled up treatment capacity to meet the needs, it is unable to do it alone. Each annual malnutrition season—typically between July and September—is leaving health facilities in Yemen overwhelmed with children in need of care, with many also suffering from measles, cholera, and acute watery diarrhea.

Last September, during the annual peak malnutrition season, bed occupancy rates in MSF-supported facilities reached extremely high levels in most facilities. In MSF-supported Al-Salam Hospital in Amran governorate, the bed occupancy rate soared to 254 percent that month. The Abs Hospital in Hajjah governorate recorded a staggering 200 percent bed occupancy rate in September 2024, followed by 176 percent in October—the highest levels in the last six years. Given the immense needs, health care staff are often forced to provide care for patients in crowded hallways and makeshift spaces.

This is not the time for half-measures. If we don’t act now by boosting nutrition programs, ensuring affordable transport to health facilities, and bringing care closer to people in need then we risk an even greater surge of malnutrition in the months ahead. - Himedan Mohammed, head of operations for MSF in the Middle East

The prolonged conflict that began over a decade ago has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure and health care systems. Malnutrition is aggravated by these gaps in health care as well as vaccination coverage that would protect children from diseases like measles and cholera, among other factors. According to the World Health Organization, as of April 2024, nearly 46 percent of health facilities in Yemen were partially functional or completely out of service. Delayed referrals and a lack of access to general health care leave families no choice but to seek help when it is almost too late.

“We travelled over two hours and spent 15,000 Yemeni riyals [approximately $61] to get here,” said Aisha, who brought her 5-month-old daughter Zahra’a to Al-Salam Hospital for lifesaving care. “With only one breadwinner in our family of 12, we can barely meet our daily needs, and the nearest health centers don’t have specialized departments to treat malnutrition. I am afraid to lose her. She is the only girl in the family. I hope she recovers soon, and I hope more organizations will come here to support people, especially those who do not have enough food or income.”

Suspensions and reductions in food assistance programs have made it even harder for people to survive in Yemen. In view of the sudden and drastic reductions in humanitarian funding to Yemen, sustained donor engagement and flexible funding from major donors is crucial to address Yemen’s escalating humanitarian crisis. Adequate and consistent funding, along with stronger partnerships between the ministry of health, donors, and implementing partners, is critical to ensure health care centers can effectively serve local communities where malnutrition rates are high. Additionally, MSF urges stakeholders to expand community-based vaccination efforts in order to curb preventable diseases like measles, cholera, and acute watery diarrhea.

In addition to bolstering the capacity of the health system and the continuation of food assistance programs, there is also a need to improve targeted food distribution programs in Yemen. Efforts like these would help ensure pregnant and lactating women, as well as children under 5 years old, receive the nutrition they need to stay healthy and develop properly.