The World Health Organization (WHO) has released an emergency response plan for Yemen as escalating conflict drives mass displacement, overwhelms health facilities and threatens access to lifesaving care.

The plan sets out funding requirement of US$ 31 million to scale up the emergency response over 3–6 months, prioritizing emergency and trauma care, critical hospital services, disease outbreak prevention and control and stronger health-sector leadership, coordination and accountability.

As of 25 October, 1677 deaths and 7395 injuries had been reported since the escalation in hostilities began on 6 August, though the toll is likely to be higher given figures from the Ministry of Public Health and Population exclude casualties in areas inaccessible to WHO and its partners.

As of 24 October, 276 301 people had been internally displaced, placing further pressure on overstretched health services. Hospitals face critical shortages of medicines, fuel, oxygen and other medical supplies. Health facilities and ambulances have also come under fire, with WHO verifying reports of attacks on health care since the escalation began.

Updated data published in September 2026 highlights the severity of malnutrition following the escalation. More than one in four of the nearly 2900 children screened by health partner mobile nutrition teams in accessible areas had acute malnutrition, including over 200 with severe acute malnutrition. Even before the escalation, projections published in February 2026 estimated that more than 2.2 million children under five would experience acute malnutrition, including over half a million with severe acute malnutrition.