Yemen: Violence Against Health Care in Conflict 2025 [EN/AR]

Please refer to the attached files.

Using data collected by Insecurity Insight, the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) identified 48 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in Yemen in 2025. Among the incidents, 17 health workers were arrested, and health facilities were violently raided or searched 12 times and damaged on at least nine occasions.

The report examines patterns of attacks affecting health workers, facilities, patients, and transport amid intensifying conflict between armed groups, and explores the consequences for access to health care, particularly in remote and conflict-affected regions. The report notes that the true scale of attacks is likely higher than documented due to underreporting in inaccessible areas and reduced humanitarian presence, including the impact of cuts to USAID funding on health service provision and monitoring.

Key findings:

• Health worker arrests and detentions and health facility raids by Houthi forces increased from April onwards. Damage to and the destruction of health care facilities increased, and health worker killings and injuries continued.
• Conflict parties’ use of explosive weapons that impacted health care surged, with aircraft and drone strikes accounting for 26% of all reported incidents. This ended a 20 month period since July 2023 during which no air strikes affecting health facilities had been reported.
• Yemen’s health care system, already fragile before the escalation of the conflict, was under severe strain by 2025, with around 40% of health facilities partially functioning or not functioning due to shortages of staff, funding, electricity, medicines and equipment, while only one in five functioning facilities were able to provide maternal and child health care services, limiting access to essential and preventive care.