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Arab World

WHO: Dire State of Maternal and Neonatal Health in Yemen

 Hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia remain leading causes of maternal deaths in Yemen (UN) 
 Hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia remain leading causes of maternal deaths in Yemen (UN) 
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WHO: Dire State of Maternal and Neonatal Health in Yemen

 Hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia remain leading causes of maternal deaths in Yemen (UN) 
 Hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia remain leading causes of maternal deaths in Yemen (UN) 

The World Health Organization (WHO) raised on Thursday the alarm about the dire state of maternal and neonatal health in Yemen, which it described as “devastating.”

The agency also underscored the urgent need for scaled-up interventions to save lives and protect the well-being of Yemen's most vulnerable.

“Decades of conflict and a spiraling humanitarian crisis have decimated Yemen's health system,” WHO said in a report issued on World Health Day 2025.

Its statistics painted a stark picture of suffering and loss. Figures showed that maternal mortality reached 183 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, a devastating regression in maternal health outcomes.

WHO said preventable complications such as hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia remain leading causes of maternal deaths, claiming the lives of women who should be experiencing the joy of motherhood.

It also noted that prematurity, asphyxia, pneumonia and sepsis contribute to unacceptably high neonatal mortality rates while malnutrition and anemia are rampant among women of reproductive age, jeopardizing their health and the health of their babies.

“The reality for mothers and newborns in Yemen is heartbreaking,” said acting WHO Representative in Yemen Dr Ferima Coulibaly-Zerbo.

“Behind these statistics are stories of immense hardship and loss. On this World Health Day, we cannot accept this as the status quo. We must act decisively and with unwavering commitment to ensure healthy beginnings and pave the way for hopeful futures,” Coulibaly-Zerbo added.

In this regard, WHO said it works tirelessly with health partners to deliver critical support and implement lifesaving interventions in Yemen, including strengthening surveillance systems to better understand and respond to maternal deaths and improving the quality of care in health facilities, ensuring access to skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care.

It also works on providing essential medicines, equipment and supplies to health facilities and training, supporting midwives and other health care providers and addressing malnutrition through screening, counseling and supplementation programs.

WHO called on the international community to increase funding for maternal and neonatal health interventions, for the government and health authorities to prioritize and strengthen the health system and all stakeholders to work together to overcome barriers to access and ensure that every mother and newborn receives the care they need.

“The future of Yemen depends on the health and well-being of its mothers and children,” said Couliba-Zerbo. “Let World Health Day 2025 be a turning point, a moment when we collectively resolve to protect and invest in hopeful futures for all Yemenis,” she added.

 

 

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Arab World

Houthis Attack Yemen's Aden Airport with Ballistic Missile

A truck loaded with firewood drives through the Al-Basateen neighborhood in Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)
A truck loaded with firewood drives through the Al-Basateen neighborhood in Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)
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Houthis Attack Yemen's Aden Airport with Ballistic Missile

A truck loaded with firewood drives through the Al-Basateen neighborhood in Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)
A truck loaded with firewood drives through the Al-Basateen neighborhood in Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)

The Houthi group renewed its attacks on Aden International Airport with a ballistic missile on Wednesday, amid intensifying battles on the Taiz fronts.

Elsewhere, the Yemeni Armed Forces continue to deplete the personnel and equipment capabilities of the Iranian-backed group under Operation Dawn of Yemen across various fronts, most notably in Taiz and western Lahj.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Taiz Governorate is worsening as the Houthis continue to block supply routes amid escalating clashes around the provincial capital, which is home to more than 600,000 civilians.

UN agencies have warned of severe repercussions threatening nearly three million people in the governorate, particularly children, women, and displaced persons, driven by declining food, water, and fuel supplies, and mounting pressure on healthcare facilities and basic services.

Families are rationing drinking water as diesel shortages hobble pumping stations and sanitation systems, said Akhil Iyer, UNICEF's representative in Yemen.

Water ‌production in Taiz has fallen by about 50%, according to Save the Children.

“We find children in an ‌extremely dangerous situation where they are not able to have their basic needs satisfied. They are not able to access sufficient food and water and healthcare,” said Rishana Haniffa, Save the Children's country director for Yemen.

Arab World

Water Rationing, Rubbish Pile-up Raise Disease Fears in Yemen’s Besieged Taiz

A woman and children wait to fill jerrycans with drinking water from a charity tank in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, October 20, 2026. (Reuters)
A woman and children wait to fill jerrycans with drinking water from a charity tank in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, October 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Water Rationing, Rubbish Pile-up Raise Disease Fears in Yemen’s Besieged Taiz

A woman and children wait to fill jerrycans with drinking water from a charity tank in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, October 20, 2026. (Reuters)
A woman and children wait to fill jerrycans with drinking water from a charity tank in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, October 20, 2026. (Reuters)

Families have started rationing water in and around Yemen's Taiz city, where renewed fighting has disrupted fuel supplies and access to water systems serving 3 million people, aid groups and UN agencies said.

Meanwhile, mounting piles of rubbish along major roads are raising fears of disease outbreaks in the city, Yemen's third-largest.

Fighting between the legitimate government and the Iran-allied terrorist Houthi militia since September has cut key supply routes, including the Taiz-Aden corridor, worsening shortages of water, food and fuel in and around the city.

The lack of fuel is hampering the operation of water pumps and hospitals, while disruption to waste collection has left rubbish piled along roads of the city, a stronghold of anti-Houthi forces which is now under siege by the militants.

The Taiz governorate hosts nearly half of the ‌250,000 people displaced by ‌the latest escalation, aid groups said.

"The state of the rubbish in the ‌city ⁠is very wretched, ⁠and the build-up is terrible, like nothing before,” Taiz resident Abdelbari al-Qadi told Reuters.

Sanitation worker Ali Ahmed said authorities could no longer go to the main dumping site because of clashes, and they were forced to burn it in the streets.

People inspect damage at a house hit by a Houthi missile in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen October 21, 2026. (Reuters)

'EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION' FOR CHILDREN, SAYS RELIEF OFFICIAL

Families are rationing drinking water as diesel shortages hobble pumping stations and sanitation systems, said Akhil Iyer, UNICEF's representative in Yemen.

"I get the water with difficulty. We wait in queues from the morning until our turn comes,” Alaa Khalil told Reuters while people queued to fill jerry cans in Taiz, where most ⁠residents depend on trucked water.

Access to the Al-Dhubab aquifer, a major source of ‌trucked water for Taiz, has been restricted, while fuel disruptions have affected ‌pumps, creating a severe water crisis, said Wathiq Aghbari, director general of the Local Water and Sanitation Authority in the governorate.

Water ‌production in Taiz has fallen by about 50%, according to Save the Children.

“We find children in an ‌extremely dangerous situation where they are not able to have their basic needs satisfied. They are not able to access sufficient food and water and healthcare,” said Rishana Haniffa, Save the Children's country director for Yemen.

Aid groups are exploring other sources, including a shallow aquifer west of the city. The cost of a water truck has tripled from about 23,000 Yemeni rials ($14.80) before ‌the latest escalation to about 70,000 rials ($45), according to UNICEF.

CARE International says cash assistance is buying less food and water as prices rise.

“We feel the situation is ⁠really getting out of ⁠hand unless we able to negotiate access to have water tankers come in to the city,” said Iman Abdullahi, CARE Yemen country director.

A pile of garbage on a street in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, October 19, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. (Reuters)

RUBBISH BUILD-UP 'WILL CAUSE DISEASES', SAYS HEALTH OFFICIAL

"The build-up of rubbish is very harmful and will cause diseases, whether respiratory or otherwise," said Abdulrahman al-Sabri, director of Taiz Governorate's Health Office, adding that dengue fever and cholera cases were spreading.

Cholera cases have tripled since early September from 221 to 683 this month, while hospitals face medicine shortages and 12 facilities have fuel supplies sufficient for only about four days, the World Health Organization said.

A doctor who asked not to be named for security reasons said some families could not reach healthcare facilities because of fighting around the city.

The Danish Refugee Council said the impact of deteriorating water and sanitation conditions could spread beyond Taiz city. It pointed to overstretched resources in crowded displacement sites across the governorates of Taiz, Lahj, Abyan and Aden.

The spread of disease could also worsen hunger in Taiz governorate, UNICEF said. It has identified 52,000 acutely malnourished children in Taiz so far this year. Road closures have halted UNICEF's deliveries of a therapeutic food for severely malnourished children in Taiz.

Arab World

Sudan’s Currency Tumbles to New Low as War Hammers Economy

People stand at a market in Omdurman, Sudan, September, 19, 2026. (Reuters)
People stand at a market in Omdurman, Sudan, September, 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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Sudan’s Currency Tumbles to New Low as War Hammers Economy

People stand at a market in Omdurman, Sudan, September, 19, 2026. (Reuters)
People stand at a market in Omdurman, Sudan, September, 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Sudan's currency ‌hit a new low of 10,000 Sudanese pounds to the dollar on Wednesday in parallel market trading, continuing a dramatic fall over recent months as wartime conditions take their toll on the economy.

The rapid 60% depreciation has heaped hardship on Sudanese still trying to regain their footing after devastating conflict and ‌forced displacement caused ‌by the war between ‌Sudanese ⁠armed forces and the ⁠paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, putting basic food items out of reach.

Sudan's official exchange rate remains stuck at 4,200 SDG to the dollar, a rate last seen on the parallel market ⁠in army-controlled areas in May.

A large ‌portion of ‌that fall has happened over the past month, ‌as the pound fell from a ‌previous low of 8,000, depreciating 20%. Prior to the start of the war in April 2023, the rate was about 600 ‌pounds to the dollar.

Currency traders cited import demands as a ⁠chief ⁠factor as the government increased the tightly controlled customs dollar, used to calculate duties, to more than 5,600 this week.

As the war continues Sudan has decreased production of key dollar earners while its chief export, gold, has increasingly been smuggled abroad. Meanwhile, the army-controlled government has said the war and reconstruction efforts require dollar-draining imports.