Yemeni Rights Group: Blockade Deepens Humanitarian Crisis for Women and Children with Cancer
Yemen’s Intesaf Organization for Women’s and Children’s Rights has condemned the continued Saudi-American blockade on Yemen, saying it has intensified the country’s humanitarian and health crisis and placed the lives of women and children with cancer at increasing risk.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the organization said women and children remain the hardest hit by the blockade, with children suffering from cancer and leukemia facing daily risks due to shortages of essential medicines, treatment delays, and restrictions preventing patients from traveling abroad for specialized care.
The organization said women with cancer are also experiencing deteriorating healthcare services and limited access to treatment, considering the situation as a violation of the internationally recognized rights to life and health.
According to figures cited from Yemen’s Ministry of Health and the National Oncology Center, 2,300 children have been diagnosed with leukemia since the start of the Saudi-American aggression and the
closure of Sana’a International Airport.
The statement added that 3,000 children currently lack access to the medicines they need, while 30 percent of pediatric leukemia patients have died after being unable to travel abroad for treatment.
It also said 200 children require bone marrow transplants and another 200 need targeted therapies unavailable inside Yemen, but remain unable to travel because of the blockade.
The organization stated that more than 120,000 cancer patients are living under severe humanitarian conditions, while 67,074 cancer cases were recorded between 2015 and 2025. It added that cancer cases have increased by 50 percent, attributing the rise to deteriorating health and environmental conditions under the blockade.
The statement further affirmed that the blockade has resulted in shortages of 60 percent of medicines, the disappearance of 1,329 pharmaceutical products, including 12 essential chemotherapy drugs, and the complete absence of 10 key cancer medicines. It also said 83 international pharmaceutical companies had withdrawn from supplying the Yemeni market, leaving thousands of patients without treatment.
The organization stressed the continued targeting of the health sector and restrictions on access to medicines as a serious violation of international humanitarian law, holding Saudi Arabia, the United States, and countries participating in the military campaign legally and morally responsible for the humanitarian consequences.
It called on the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other international organizations to press for an end to the blockade, ensure the delivery of life-saving medicines, reopen airports and border crossings for patients, and help prevent the “slow death” of thousands of women, children, and cancer patients.
The closure of Sana’a International Airport has been one of the most significant measures of the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen since 2016.
The restrictions have cut off a vital gateway for medical evacuations, humanitarian aid, and civilian travel, worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis and limiting access to essential services. Sana’a has repeatedly called for the lifting of the blockade and the full reopening of the airport.