‘Breaks my heart’: Yemen jab shortages spark fears for millions of children

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that vaccine shortages in Yemen are leaving millions of children without routine immunisations, deepening concerns in a country already battered by war and a fragile health system. The issue is most acute in Houthi-controlled areas, where parents and health workers say childhood vaccines have become hard to find after supply disruptions and political disputes slowed or stopped deliveries.

The article focuses on families such as that of Mirsal Adel, a father in Ibb governorate who traveled with his infant son to Taiz, a government-held city about 75km away, to get vaccines that were no longer available locally. He said the trip cost about $100, underscoring how travel and clinic access can be prohibitive for poorer households. Health workers in Taiz told Al Jazeera that children are arriving from Houthi-held areas to receive doses there.

According to the report, UNICEF suspended operations in Houthi-controlled areas in October 2025 after detentions of UN staff and raids on its premises. Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry said the last vaccine shipment it received arrived on September 4, 2025, while the Aden-based health ministry warned in late July 2026 that nearly five million children in Houthi areas had been cut off from essential routine vaccines. The two sides accuse each other of blocking deliveries, and UNICEF and Gavi did not provide detailed public responses in the article.

The dispute matters because Yemen’s immunisation coverage was already below ideal levels, and aid agencies warn that continued shortages could leave children exposed to preventable disease.