UN reports healthcare crisis in Taiz as Iran backed Houthis encircle city

The United Nations aid coordination office, OCHA, reported on November 2 that a humanitarian crisis is worsening in the southwestern Yemeni city of Taiz. Paramilitary Iran-backed Houthi forces have encircled the city and all access roads are now closed due to ongoing fighting. Commercial supplies are unable to pass through, leaving nearly 250,000 people without essential healthcare. [1]

According to OCHA, those affected by the lack of medical supplies include more than 186,000 children under the age of five and 23,000 pregnant women. Twelve hospitals in the city are now at risk of closing while healthcare demand continues to increase. Within a single week, officials recorded more than 1,400 cases of acute diarrhoea and suspected cholera. [1]

The military blockade of Taiz forms part of the ongoing battle for control of the city that began during the Yemeni Civil War. Although a key access road into Taiz was partially opened in June 2024, Houthi forces intensified the siege and encircled the city during offensives in 2026. As FTMQ World reported earlier, severe fuel shortages in the blockaded city previously forced local hospitals to drastically reduce newborn incubator services. [9][12]

The worsening conditions in Taiz unfold as international diplomatic efforts face broader strains. In a separate announcement on November 2, UN News noted the phased closure of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara after its Security Council mandate expired. [1]