Full Breakdown
Vaccine Shortages Threaten Millions of Children in Houthi-Controlled Yemen
9/8/2026, 12:38:03 AM
The Emerging Crisis
Since UNICEF halted its operations in Houthi-held territories in October 2025, routine childhood vaccines have become scarce. The Health Ministry in Sanaa confirmed that the last shipment arrived on September 4, 2025. By late July 2026 the Aden-based Health Ministry warned that nearly five million children in Houthi-controlled areas were cut off from essential immunisations. The shortage has forced families to travel long distances at prohibitive cost to obtain basic doses such as polio and pneumococcal vaccines.
Background and Context
The war that began in late 2014 after the Houthis seized northern and western Yemen led to a Saudi-led coalition intervention in March 2015. A UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 reduced large-scale fighting, but clashes intensified again from July 2022 onward. In March 2026 the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that only 59.3 % of Yemen’s health facilities remained fully functional and that overall vaccination coverage stood at 63 %—figures that pre-date the complete exhaustion of vaccine stocks in Houthi-held zones.
Official Statements & Responses
Anees al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi Health Ministry in Sanaa, blamed UNICEF and the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) for the collapse, saying the agencies were informed of impending shortages but failed to act before all nine routine childhood vaccines were exhausted. He added that the Saudi-imposed blockade prevents independent importation.
He noted that more than 65 % of the total supply had been allocated to Houthi-held areas, yet the Houthis “refused to accept” the shipments.
On-the-Ground Reports
Parents such as Mohammed Abdulwahed describe an “absence of vaccines” in Sanaa, forcing families to travel to government-held cities at costs many cannot afford.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I visited the hospital more than once, and I was told that UNICEF, which used to provide the vaccines, stopped supplying them, with no word on when they might arrive,” — Adel. In October
- “Our children’s health is a red line, and we must do everything we can to get them vaccinated,” — Mirsal Adel
- “Vaccination teams used to go door-to-door to vaccinate children, but this year everything changed suddenly, and getting a reliable vaccine now costs a lot,” — Mirsal Adel
- “There was a shortage of vaccines earlier this year, and we used to struggle to get them, but now we cannot find them at all in Sanaa,” — Mohammed Abdulwahed
