Eliminating malnutrition in Yemen permanently to transform the health of Al-Hudaydah communities

A health center as a pillar of survival 

In the Al-Mighlaf district of Al-Hudaydah governorate, more than 70,000 people, including 4,000 displaced families, live in deep poverty. The absence of basic services defines the daily lives of thousands. Since 2018, Première Urgence Internationale has supported the local health center, transforming it, with the support of the European Union, into one of the largest functioning medical facilities in the north of the region. 

The center delivers a full package of primary healthcare and features an 18-bed therapeutic feeding center (TFC) dedicated to treating severe acute malnutrition. For this community, the facility is not just a clinic; it is a refuge, often the only line between life and death. 

A Village on the edge 

Al-Mighlaf is surrounded by farms and informal housing without electricity. At night, the health center’s lights shine up to four kilometers away, a rare glow in complete darkness. Dr. Younis, Première Urgence Internationale TFC Team Leader, testifies to this extreme geographical and social isolation: 

“When I leave the clinic, I see only the stars and the moon. It’s completely dark outside the health center after sunset.” 

Accessibility is a major challenge: the nearest proper pharmacy is 30 minutes away by road – a journey many cannot afford- and some residents walk nine kilometers just to buy bread. 

Daily urgency and team resilience 

Every day, the center is crowded. Patients walk for hours, sometimes barefoot, to reach care. Services are provided 24/7. Dr. Younis emphasizes the vital nature of this mission of unconditional welcome: 

“It’s not only a health center, this building has become a place of refuge. We cannot turn people away. There is nowhere else for them to go.” 

^{Al-Mighlaf Health and Therapeutic Feeding Center, Hodeidah governorate, Yemen | © Première Urgence Internationale}

In 2018, the therapeutic feeding center treated 12 patients per month. Last month, it treated 127, nearly a tenfold increase. 

Account of a critical lifesaving case in 2025 

In September 2025, a couple arrived after walking 7 kilometers with their 8-month-old daughter. She was unconscious and suffering complications of severe acute malnutrition. Following immediate emergency stabilization procedures by staff supported by Première Urgence Internationale, the child regained strength. Dr. Younis recalls the father’s emotion when the child woke up: 

“Her father started to cry when she woke up. This was a critical case; she might not have survived. He wanted only one thing: to save his daughter’s life. There was nowhere else he could go.” 

Upon discharge five days later, the baby’s weight had increased from 2.7 kg to 3.2 kg, and the family received food assistance to consolidate this recovery. 

Structural challenges   

Recent aid cuts have increased pressure on the center. Staff numbers have decreased, while patient numbers are rising. Each team member now performs the work of two. “Still, the patients receive dignified care, and that is what matters and pushes us to work the next day” Dr. Younis says. 

Despite global aid cuts in April 2025, the continuity of services was preserved through the generous support of the European Union. Between May 2025 and today, Première Urgence Internationale has provided over 26,000 medical consultations and treated 719 children for severe acute malnutrition. Dr. Younis, who lives on-site, expresses the hardship and necessity of this commitment: 

“I have worked in many places, but I have never seen poverty and helplessness like this. Children arrive with nothing but skin on bones. One mother told me: ‘I always pray for you. You saved my first child’s life.’” 

Without this ongoing humanitarian support, Al-Mighlaf would lose its battle against hunger and disease.