WHO completes consultations with Yemen health authorities for Country Cooperation Strategy 2024-2025
Yemen's fragile health system is heavily dependent on humanitarian aid to remain functional and provide life-saving services to millions of vulnerable Yemenis22 August 2023, Aden – The World Health Organization (WHO) has completed a series of consultations with the health authorities in Yemen with the goal of finalizing the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) for Yemen for 2024-2025. This important step signifies the commitment of WHO and health authorities to build on the current close collaboration to advance the health and well-being of the Yemeni people.
As the success of the CCS hinges upon active collaboration among WHO, health authorities, and other relevant stakeholders, further consultations are also planned by WHO in the coming weeks with donors and health partners to ensure support from all key stakeholders to foster and align synergies to advance universal health coverage and sustainable development in the health sector.
“As Yemen transitions across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, the CCS for Yemen will serve as a strategic framework to complement national health priorities and guide the work of the health sector to apply WHO’s global health objectives at the country level. The development of the CCS for Yemen is a participatory process that involves extensive consultations with key stakeholders at the national and community levels, ensuring inclusivity and country ownership in the strategy's development,” said Dr Arturo Pesigan, WHO Representative in Yemen.
The CCS is designed to be consistent with the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare for all. For Yemen, the draft CCS includes four joint strategic priorities and corresponding focus areas to guide the health agenda in Yemen over the next two years:
Provide health care to promote universal health coverage (UHC)
Protect the population by preparing for, detecting and responding to health emergencies
Promote healthier lives and well-being by addressing the determinants of health and risk factors
Promote a peace and health dividend to support resilient health systems and foster community engagement, social cohesion, partnership and collaboration
National health authorities in Yemen appreciated the consultation process, marking it as an important step for joint efforts to save lives by preventing, detecting and responding to health emergencies, promoting healthier communities and building a resilient health system.
In implementing this vision, WHO shall strive to forward evidence-based and innovative solutions that will lead to improved access to quality health services, with a focus on primary health care (PHC), leading to better health outcomes for all people in Yemen. Emphasis was also placed by national health authorities on the need to regularly review and evaluate joint health activities and maximize the use of available resources to find sustainable solutions to ensure self-reliance of the health care system.
Note to editors
The CCS is WHO’s strategic framework to guide WHO’s work in and with a Member State. It responds to that country's national health and development agenda, positions WHO’s work in Yemen in the context of the United Nations Yemen Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022–2024 (UNSDCF) and WHO’s programme budget, and identifies a set of agreed joint priorities for WHO collaboration, with a focus on areas where the Organization has a role of facilitator and joint lead in UN support to accelerate implementation of the SDGs comparative advantage to assure public health impact.
In Yemen, the previous CCS expired in 2013 and has not been updated due to the prolonged conflict with subsequent humanitarian crisis. In November and December 2019, preliminary discussions between WHO and Yemen authorities aimed at developing a new CCS for Yemen started but were interrupted early 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Priority was then given to developing and implementing the Yemen National COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan.
WHO has initiated the development process of the CCS in June 2023 and is adopting a fast-tracked approach, with the aim of launching the CCS before the end of 2023.
For more information visit: Yemen Health Emergency
Media contacts: WHO Yemen Communications, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
About WHO: Since 1948, The World Health Organization (WHO) has been the United Nations agency dedicated to advancing health for all, so that everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health. WHO leads global efforts to expand universal health coverage, direct and coordinate the world’s responses to health emergencies and connect nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.