Yemeni doctors abroad warned on Monday 12 October 2026 that health services in Taiz governorate risk collapse as hospitals near depletion of medicines, intravenous fluids, medical supplies and fuel. They called for roads to be opened and an urgent corridor secured to allow life-saving humanitarian and medical supplies to reach the area, and for patients, ambulances and medical teams to pass safely.
Warnings that vital departments in Taiz hospitals could stop operating
In a statement, the doctors said recent warnings issued by Yemen’s Ministry of Health indicate that emergency departments, surgical units and intensive care units could stop operating, along with dialysis and neonatal care services.
They called for urgent intervention to prevent shortages from turning into a health and humanitarian catastrophe, stressing the need to ensure the continuity of essential medical services in the governorate’s hospitals. The statement accused the Houthi group of continuing to impose a siege on Taiz city, closing roads and obstructing the delivery of essential supplies.
The doctors said putting patients’ lives at risk and depriving hospitals of what they need to continue operating was unacceptable on humanitarian grounds and contravened obligations under international humanitarian law. They called on the United Nations, the World Health Organisation, the International Committee of the Red Cross and international humanitarian and medical organisations to act urgently to assess health needs in Taiz and secure life-saving medicines and supplies.
They also called for a mechanism to ensure the flow of supplies and the uninterrupted provision of essential medical services. The statement’s demands included an end to attacks threatening civilians, respect for the special protection afforded to hospitals, health facilities and their staff, and an end to practices that obstruct the provision of medical care.
The doctors stressed the need to remove obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian and medical aid to the city, while ensuring safe passage for patients, vehicles and health workers.
The doctors expressed solidarity with their colleagues and health workers in Taiz and called on Yemeni medical professionals around the world to contribute to relief efforts and provide medical support in coordination with the relevant humanitarian bodies. The statement said patients’ lives must not be used as a bargaining chip in war and that access to healthcare was a human right that must not be denied.
Siaaj organisation warns over the lives of Taiz children
Separately, the Siaaj Organisation for Child Protection warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe that it said threatened the lives of nearly half a million children inside Taiz city. The organisation attributed the risk to the siege it accuses the Houthi group of imposing on the city, and to what it described as intensive attacks on residential neighbourhoods through heavy and indiscriminate shelling.
In a statement, the organisation said the siege imposed on Taiz began in early October 2026, and that the Houthi group’s control of roads leading to the city and roads linking the governorate to other governorates had prevented food and medicines from reaching the area. It added that the restrictions had worsened the suffering of city residents and displaced people there.
The Siaaj Organisation estimated that restrictions on access to food and medicine affected around 2.8 million people in the city and surrounding rural areas, noting that most of those affected were women and children. The estimate came as it warned of the risks facing nearly half a million children inside Taiz as humanitarian and medical supplies declined.
The doctors linked the continued operation of emergency, surgical, intensive care, dialysis and neonatal services to the swift delivery of fuel, medicines, fluids and essential supplies.
Their demands focus on urgently assessing health needs, securing life-saving supplies and opening roads to patients, ambulances and health workers, allowing hospitals to continue providing essential services.
