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Restoring immunity by reaching every child: Yemen reinforces immunization
16 March 2026, Aden, Yemen – Amid one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises, Yemen has reinforced its national immunization system and successfully interrupted variant poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) transmission in the south.
Between 2024 and 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO), with financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), delivered comprehensive technical and operational assistance to the Ministry of Public Health and Population. This support strengthened the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and the national Polio programme.
A health worker marks a child’s finger during a community vaccination campaign
A total of 18,832 immunization staff were trained to enhance routine services and 800 polio and vaccine-preventable diseases personnel trained to improve surveillance, outbreak investigation and sample management capacities. Laboratories in Aden, Sana’a and Taiz received nearly US$ 1 million in essential supplies to improve sample storage and testing, and laboratory workforce capacities were strengthened with continuous training.
Faced with the threat of cVDPV2 transmission, the response was swift and coordinated. WHO supported the rollout of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), training over 9000 vaccinators and deploying more than 7,000 vaccination teams. Two nationwide vaccination rounds in 2024 achieved 100% coverage. They were followed by 2 additional 100% coverage rounds in 2025, protecting millions of children and expanding access to vitamin A supplementation.
Community health volunteer Ahlam Ahmed visits households to support vaccination efforts
“When the outbreak began, we knew we could not afford delays. We went door to door, sometimes walking for hours to reach children in remote villages and displacement sites. Every child vaccinated meant one more family protected and brought us one step closer to stopping the virus,” said community health volunteer Ahlam Ahmed.
Reaching those previously unreached was central to the success of the initiative. During 9 integrated outreach rounds across 12 southern governorates, 7620 health workers travelled to remote valleys, mountain settlements and displacement sites.
These efforts reached 542,183 children under 5, including 119,702 zero-dose children. More than 222,120 pentavalent doses and 184 063 measles vaccines were administered, helping close long-standing immunity gaps.
In northern Yemen, outreach services resumed for the first time in more than 3 years. In 2025, 2.2 million measles-rubella vaccinations were delivered alongside integrated child, maternal and nutrition consultation services.
Behind these statistics are families whose confidence in health services is being rebuilt.
“For months, we lived in fear of disease spreading among our children. When the vaccination teams arrived, I did not hesitate. I made sure my children were vaccinated immediately. Protecting them is my responsibility. I encourage every parent to vaccinate their children. Every dose brings us closer to a healthier, safer future for all,” said Abdullah Raged.
These successes have been made possible by the unwavering commitment of national health authorities and the support of WHO’s donors and partners whose investments enabled workforce training, surveillance strengthening, laboratory improvements, extensive outreach campaigns and the rapid deployment of lifesaving vaccines.
The work must continue. In a health landscape shaped by conflict, displacement and system fragility, millions of children remain vulnerable to vaccine‑preventable diseases. Sustained and flexible donor support is essential to maintain immunization coverage, close remaining immunity gaps, sustain robust surveillance and ensure every child receives lifesaving vaccines.
With continued partnership and solidarity, Yemen can secure a polio‑free future for its children.
Yemen introduces a national emergency medicine diploma to address the critical shortage of specialists
11 March 2026, Aden, Yemen – After a decade of conflict, Yemen’s health system is severely strained.
In the face of enormous challenges and overwhelming needs, health care workers remain at the heart of the system, continuing to serve on the front lines. They are the lifeline that keeps hospitals and emergency services functioning. But the critical shortage of specialized emergency physicians limits hospitals’ ability to provide timely, lifesaving care.
Strengthening emergency response across Yemen. Photo credit: WHO Yemen
As of 2026, approximately 23.1 million Yemenis require humanitarian assistance and protection services, with projections indicating more than half of the population will remain in crisis or emergency conditions, underscoring the critical need to invest in the workers that sustain the health system.
To help address this gap, WHO Yemen, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Population and the Yemeni Medical Council for Specialties, supported the launch of Yemen’s first Postgraduate Diploma in Emergency Medicine in Aden on 12 April 2025 via the Emergency Human Capital project funded by The World Bank.
The initiative strengthens national institutional capacity by embedding the curriculum within Yemen’s own medical educational system, delivered through the Yemeni Medical Council for Specialties. By collaborating with national institutions and accredited bodies, the programme ensures emergency medicine specialization is locally led and sustainably integrated into health workforce development.
Health workers receive emergency care response training in the intensive care unit. Photo credit: WHO Yemen
The landmark 9-month programme enrolled 25 physicians from public hospitals across southern governorates, including facilities in rural and underserved areas. The training, which combined theoretical instruction with hands-on clinical rotations in emergency rooms and intensive and cardiac care units, equipped participants with the skills needed to manage critical emergency conditions, including trauma, infectious diseases and mass casualty incidents.
The programme represents a long-term investment in Yemen’s health workforce, helping establish a national pool of qualified emergency medicine professionals to serve vulnerable populations. By strengthening physicians’ skills, the diploma enhances the quality and timeliness of lifesaving emergency care services in public hospitals, building institutional capacity.
As Yemen continues to face one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises, strengthening the health workforce is vital to sustaining critical health services.
Initiatives such as the Postgraduate Diploma in Emergency Medicine help ensure that hospitals can continue delivering lifesaving care under challenging conditions. By investing in national capacity, WHO and its partners are supporting Yemen’s path towards a more resilient health system capable of responding to emergencies and saving lives.
Protecting dignity, strengthening systems: Advancing survivor-centred GBV services in Yemen
09 March 2026, Aden, Yemen – In Yemen’s prolonged humanitarian crisis, women and girls continue to face a heightened risk of gender-based violence (GBV), while the health system struggles under the weight of conflict, displacement and limited resources. In such a fragile context, ensuring that survivors of GBV can access safe, confidential and quality health services is not only a public health priority – it is a matter of dignity, protection and human rights.
Since 2021, the Ministry of Public Health and Population, in close partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), has been working to institutionalize survivor-centred GBV services and strengthen safeguarding mechanisms across the health system. The approach has focused on reinforcing national leadership, standardizing clinical guidance, improving quality of care and embedding ethical accountability into everyday health practice.
A cornerstone of this effort has been large-scale capacity-building. During 2024–2025, 2496 health professionals were trained on responding to GBV and the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. This included 1956 health ministry staff and health-care providers, 286 representatives from civil society organizations and 254 Health Cluster partners. This training enhanced frontline readiness, strengthened referral pathways and promoted safer, more accountable service delivery in health facilities nationwide.
A major milestone was reached on 14 December 2025, with the endorsement of the updated National Protocol for the Medical Management of GBV Survivors. The protocol provides standardized, practical guidance to unify how providers identify, manage, document and refer GBV cases – ensuring comprehensive, confidential and survivor-centred care across all levels of the health system. As one frontline health worker said: “This guideline unifies how we manage cases and ensures survivors receive comprehensive and respectful services.”
In parallel, the Ministry of Public Health and Population, supported by WHO, has developed a national code of conduct that clearly defines professional behaviour, prohibits sexual misconduct and establishes reporting and response mechanisms to increase accountability.
Together, these reforms are strengthening the safeguarding of women and girls, the quality of health care and trust in Yemen’s health services – ensuring that survivors are treated with dignity and that health workers operate within clear, ethical standards. Sustained investment and partnership will be needed to expand and maintain this lifesaving, survivor-centred response.
WHO continues large-scale malaria response across Yemen
A comprehensive emergency vector control campaign in targeted districts in Yemen. Photo credits: WHO Yemen/ Nesma Khan23 February 2026, Aden,Yemen - The World Health Organization (WHO), with the generous support of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), is currently implementing Phase 2 of a project to strengthen malaria control and prevention in Yemen, expanding life-saving malaria and arboviral disease interventions across 15 governorates and more than 200 districts nationwide.
Running from March 2025 to February 2028, the project’s goal is to strengthen prevention, surveillance and case management services in high-risk and epidemic-prone areas, prioritizing pregnant women, children under-5, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, migrants and communities in hard-to-reach locations.
Ongoing interventions reaching millions
The project is expected to benefit 8.7 million people, through an integrated package of interventions designed to reduce malaria-related morbidity and mortality and contain outbreaks of dengue and other arboviral diseases.
Activities currently underway include:
- distribution of malaria rapid diagnostic tests and laboratory supplies to strengthen early detection and confirmation of malaria and dengue
- provision of essential antimalarial medicines, ensuring timely treatment for uncomplicated and severe malaria cases
- reactivation of quality assurance/quality control systems for malaria microscopy in targeted health facilities to improve diagnostic accuracy
- expansion of integrated community case management, including training and supervision of community health volunteers to increase access to testing and treatment in remote districts
- implementation of indoor residual spraying in prioritized high-burden and epidemic-prone areas
- establishment of continuous distribution of insecticide-treated nets through antenatal care and immunization services to protect pregnant women and infants
- strengthening of integrated entomological surveillance in 16 sentinel sites to monitor mosquito vectors and guide targeted control measures
- deployment of mobile teams to deliver surveillance and case management services in IDP sites and high-risk border areas.
Malaria and arboviral diseases remain significant public health threats in Yemen, particularly in areas affected by displacement, environmental changes and limited access to essential services. Sustained surveillance and targeted vector control remain critical to preventing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable communities.
“WHO remains committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable populations have access to timely diagnosis, effective treatment and proven prevention tools,” said Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative in Yemen. “Through strengthened surveillance and community-based services, we are helping to reduce the burden of malaria and other arboviral diseases across the country.”
WHO expresses its sincere appreciation to the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) for its continued support to malaria control and prevention efforts in Yemen, enabling the delivery of these life-saving interventions to millions of people at risk.
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