# Meningitis Cases Surge in Yemen Amidst Collapsing Health System
Daily cases of meningitis are recorded in Taiz, November 2025 (Amer Al-Sabri)
Yemen’s habitat has become infested with preventable diseases, such as meningitis, as the country experiences the repercussions of over ten years of war. This is occurring alongside a scarcity of vaccines and their ban in Houthi-controlled areas, which include about 75% of the country’s population. Repeated waves of displacement, food shortages, difficulty in obtaining clean drinking water, and a lack of sanitation services exacerbate the situation.
In Ibn Khaldoun Hospital in the city of Al-Houta in Lahj Governorate (southwest), 7-year-old Anis Othman is receiving medical care for meningitis. His father told *Al-Araby Al-Jadeed*: “I thought it was a normal fever, and it would go away after a day or two, but we noticed symptoms that made us worried, as he was suffering from headaches, stiffness in the neck, great discomfort from light, and a constant desire to sleep.At first we gave him a fever reducer and sedatives, but his condition did not improve. What made me transfer him to the hospital, where the doctors conducted the necessary tests on him, diagnosed him with meningitis, and confirmed that the disease had spread recently.”
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and is divided into bacterial, viral, and fungal forms. Some forms of the disease can cause death, or leave survivors with permanent disabilities, including deafness, mental disability, or partial paralysis.> Statistics indicate that 919 cases of meningitis were recorded in Taiz,that is,more than 70% of the cases recorded in the governorates of the legitimate government. But the mortality rate is low.
The health information official in Taiz Governorate, Tayseer Al-Sami, told *Al-Araby Al-Jadeed*, “Meningitis is among the diseases that spread in Yemen in general. 26 deaths were recorded in areas under the control of the internationally recognized government, in addition to 1,232 infections. Taiz is among the governorates where the disease is spreading; statistics indicate that there are 919 infections in Taiz, that is, more than 70% of the cases recorded in the legitimate government’s governorates. But the death rate is low, as only one death was recorded out of all the infections, and this is a positive indicator.”
Al-Sama’i adds: “Six deaths were recorded in both Lahj and Abyan governorates,although the number of infections is small. This may indicate weak health services, or a delay in reporting infections, which arrive late and cannot be saved. This is due to several factors, including the lack of awareness among people, or their lack of knowledge of the disease, which can be prevented, especially the bacterial type, through vaccination. Poor vaccination coverage is considered a reason for the increase in the number of infections.” He continues: “The problem is that this current situation is in areas controlled by the legitimate government, which means that the disaster is greater in areas controlled by the Houthis, where there are no surveillance teams, early warning, or statistics to know the number of infections, and health services suffer from severe deficiencies, and it is tough to obtain any data, in addition to the cessation of many primary health care services.”
According to statistics from the Swedish Hospital for
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