31 May 2022 – WHO has started a 6-month, US$ 2.8 million project to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage to 10% in 13 governorates and 133 districts of southern Yemen. 

In partnership with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), WHO is securing and distributing new vaccines and supplies to districts and facilities, coupled with training and deployment of COVID-19 vaccination teams to vaccination sites in these governorates and districts. 

Major hospitals and health centres are serving as fixed vaccination sites, with smaller facilities in selected communities serving as temporary sites. In addition, populations in hard-to-reach areas are being reached by outreach/mobile teams.

WHO is monitoring storage and temperature control at vaccine cold storage and service delivery points. Priority interventions are adhering to all WHO standard guidelines for COVAX planning and training of health workers on how to administer the COVID-19 vaccines and engage with communities.

A minimum vaccination coverage of 70% of Yemeni adults is required to achieve adequate country-wide protection against COVID-19 infections and deaths. To date, a total of 886 664 persons above 18 years have been fully vaccinated up to 12 May 2022 with either one dose of the Janssen vaccine (572 495), 2 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine (312 025), or 2 doses of Sinovac (144).

Working jointly with UNICEF in Yemen, WHO is updating cold chain and vaccine management tools as per global standards and national requirements. Centralized supervision and third-party monitors are ensuring proper warehousing and temperature monitoring of the vaccines at all storage and service delivery points. WHO is also continually assessing the adequacy of cold chain capacity to accommodate vaccine volumes and resolve arising challenges.

Project funding of US$ 2.8 million is covering all activities with the exception of vaccine procurement, personal protective equipment, infection prevention and control materials, safety boxes, syringes and containers for safe waste collection at facilities administering the vaccines. 

“The Yemeni people have battled 4 waves of COVID-19, and Yemen’s fragile health care system has been unable to cope,” said Dr Adham Rashad Ismail Abdel-Moneim, WHO Representative to Yemen. “WHO is grateful to KSrelief for partnering with us in this important campaign, as we continue to fight this pandemic together with the Ministry of Public Health and Population and all of our partners in Yemen.”