The recent escalation of the conflict in south Yemen has severely affected health facilities leading to massive constraints pregnant and delivering women in accessing reproductive health care services. .

As fighting in Shabawa Governorate, ten private midwifery home-based clinics established by UNFPA in 2018 became a lifeline for pregnant women trapped in the crisis. During three days of intense fighting the midwives conducted a total of 16 home deliveries. At UNFPA-supported Ataq Hospital in Shabawa, 15 normal deliveries, 18 post-abortion treatment and eight caesarean sections were conducted.

Ataq City, the governorate capital, was shut-down and movement within the city was restricted for three consecutive days in August. Families could not replenish household supplies or access medical services. Health workers at Ataq Hospital worked continuously for three days with no shifts. Continued reproductive health services were facilitated by the pre-positioned reproductive health kits that had been placed by UNFPA at the health facilities before the onset of the fighting. Earlier training on MISP training for reproductive health coordinators in the governorate enabled better preparedness by the governorate and district health authorities for the provision of reproductive health services in this crisis situation.