Yemen is experiencing one of the world’s most enduring humanitarian crises after a decade of conflict that has led to a near collapse of the public health system. With so little public attention, it’s being called ‘the forgotten war’.
People don’t have access to basic healthcare or essential medicines, and there’s severely limited access to reproductive healthcare like maternity services, family planning and emergency care after miscarriages.
Our local Yemeni programme has been operating for over 26 years and in the face of conflict, has been able to maintain access to life-saving reproductive health services – supporting more than 800,000 women and girls in a single year. Saving lives has been a critical priority, but so too has safeguarding the wellbeing and futures of women and children with access to health services.
Muna, an MSI Yemen midwife, shared:
“People here trust us. They rely on us to deliver quality care as they can’t find it elsewhere. And we save lives.
I remember when one father came to our MSI clinic with his wife in labour, crying and shouting, ‘Someone please help me! My wife is dying!’. They had travelled to numerous private clinics and hospitals only to be turned away because they couldn’t afford their fees. The mother was in an unstable condition and we said we would try our best to help. When we told the father that we saved the life of mother and baby, he was crying and we were crying too.”
MSI Yemen operates 12 clinics including several maternity centres in both the north and south of the country, offering a range of maternal and child health services, supported by two contact centres providing information and referrals. A network of 94 community-based midwives are roaming in rural areas to ensure the women and girls have access to care there, too.
But we know providing services isn’t enough to create long-term change. The local team also work with women, girls, and the wider community to raise awareness of the benefits of reproductive health.
An unfunded future and urgent call for support
Funding uncertainties are casting a dark shadow over the future of healthcare for people in Yemen.
The now dismantled USAID was the country’s single largest donor in 2024 contributing $620m of aid, and the US government’s decision to defund UNFPA has also had knock-on effects reducing funding for Yemeni partners. Other governments including the UK, Germany, and Belgium have also announced reduced aid budgets. The 2025 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is currently only 7% funded.
We’re beyond calling this a funding gap – it’s a vast gulf. Women and children will bear the brunt of this harm, facing a future with little to no access to essential healthcare and basic resources, or facing no future at all.
Now is the time to stand in solidarity with women and children in Yemen.
The MSI Yemen team are asking for urgent support so they can continue to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain dignity for women living through this hardship.
Please donate to MSI’s frontline programmes today to protect access to essential healthcare. To further your support, please continue to stay informed on Yemen’s ‘forgotten war’ and share resources like this with your networks to raise further awareness.
