Hospital in Yemen’s Taiz warns of collapse in days because of Houthi siege

What the report says

A hospital in Taiz, in southwest Yemen, is warning that it could run out of the fuel and medical supplies it needs within days because of renewed Houthi restrictions around the city, according to Al Jazeera. The Republican Hospital’s dialysis centre says it is treating 270 kidney patients, but has been forced to shorten sessions from four hours to two and a half hours as diesel, dialysis fluids and other essentials run low.

Hospital officials told Al Jazeera that the latest delivery of specialised dialysis solutions did not arrive as planned, and that the centre’s remaining stocks are nearly exhausted. The shortages are affecting more than one facility: Taiz’s health office has said 1,110 kidney patients across the governorate could be put at risk, while the World Health Organization has warned that fuel, oxygen, medicines and other supplies are critically scarce across the health system.

The report says Taiz hospitals depend heavily on diesel generators because war damage has left the electricity network unreliable. Medical staff described rising black-market fuel prices, partial suspension of some services, and pressure on oxygen production, laboratory testing and emergency care. Patients interviewed by Al Jazeera said the reduced dialysis time leaves them weak and in pain.

The situation matters because Taiz has been a major front in Yemen’s long-running war, and blockages on roads and supplies can quickly affect civilians’ access to healthcare, food and water. Humanitarian groups, including Amnesty International and the UN, have urged the Houthis to reopen routes and allow essential goods and aid into the city.