Yemen: MSF concerned by the impact of strikes on access to healthcare

Geneva, 27 October 2026 - Over the past few days, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams in Aden and Mocha, Yemen, have been exposed to a series of incidents that are further restricting humanitarian access and the provision of medical care to people in Yemen. We reiterate to all parties to the conflict that humanitarian and medical workers, medical facilities, patients, and their access to care must be protected.

On the morning of Monday 26 October, three strikes hit the coastal area of Mocha. One of them fell only 150 meters away from Mocha General Hospital, where MSF teams work in the maternity and paediatric wards. While all staff and patients are safe, the strike caused damage to the building that may weaken its structure in the longer term, as it has already been weakened by years of regular blasts. The strike also created panic among patients, medical staff and civilians, further limiting safe access to healthcare. Such incidents are preventing patients from coming to the hospital for fear of their lives: with every strike around the hospital, we see a decrease in the number of patients coming to seek care.

A few days earlier, while an MSF plane was about to take off from Aden’s airport on a routine flight intended to carry humanitarian workers, a missile hit the vicinity of the airport. The plane was forced to stay on the ground, and staff were asked not to board but to seek shelter inside the airport instead. Aden airport is the main entry point for humanitarian workers, supplies and medical equipment to the southern parts of Yemen, and safe access to it is crucial.

These incidents, among others, are exposing MSF and other humanitarian actors in Yemen to greater threats, directly affecting their ability to respond urgently and reach people at a time when needs are at their highest and the provision of humanitarian and medical care is essential.