Yemen: Malnourished children are reaching hospitals in critical condition | Doctors Without Borders

MSF cannot fill the gaps alone

MSF continues to provide treatment for malnutrition and other medical complications, but emergency medical organizations cannot replace a broader health and nutrition system.

“Our teams are treating children today, but we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg,” says Ainur Absemetova, MSF head of mission in Yemen. “Yemen’s malnutrition crisis requires sustained funding, flexible donor support, and stronger partnerships to meet the scale of the need.”

For thousands of families across Yemen, that hope increasingly depends on whether care remains available when and where their children need it.

Without adequate community and primary health care services, more families may be forced to undertake long journeys for care, and more children may reach hospitals only after their conditions have become severe.

Our work in Yemen

MSF provides and supports care for children with acute malnutrition and associated medical complications in several locations in Yemen, including Abs General Hospital in Hajjah governorate; Al-Salam Hospital in Khamer, Amran governorate; and MSF-supported facilities in Mocha, Taiz governorate. MSF activities include inpatient treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications, as well as outpatient therapeutic feeding services in locations where these are available.

The figures cited in this article reflect patients treated or identified at specific MSF-supported facilities and should not be interpreted as representative of the overall prevalence of malnutrition in Yemen.