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Action by WHO, the World Bank and health authorities transforms medical waste management in Yemen
2 January 2025, Aden, Yemen – Safely managing medical waste has been a critical challenge amid Yemen’s ongoing conflict. However, innovative investments and consistent reinforcement of good practices by WHO, the World Bank, and local health authorities are transforming this essential process, protecting communities and the environment.
Eight years ago, Yemen’s health facilities were engulfed by untreated medical waste, with broken disposal systems threatening public health and safety. In response, WHO and the World Bank embarked on a transformative partnership to overhaul waste management systems across the country.
To address this, WHO designed – in consultation with the World Bank – a low-cost waste treatment unit model, including a plastic shredder and burial pits under units for ashes, sharps and non-sharp waste. WHO then led community consultations and developed environmental and social management plans for each facility where a unit would be installed. After the World Bank cleared the plans, WHO led the contracting and installation, and training to ensure proper use and maintenance of the units.
As of 2024, WHO has installed 60 waste treatment units in Yemen, revolutionizing waste management in 139 of 170 health facilities under the EHCP. Compared to just 20% of facilities with functional systems eight years ago, today, over 81% are equipped to manage waste safely.
Regular monitoring under the EHCP has driven significant improvements. By 2024, compliance with best practices had increased to 91%, thanks to WHO’s proactive measures such as on-site visits, direct communication with facility managers, and collaboration with local authorities.
To promote full compliance, WHO takes constant proactive action. This has included writing to authorities to seek enforcement of good waste management practices on 4 occasions in 2024. Meetings with central and governorate authorities are held at least annually to update and revisit environmental and social standards. In addition, WHO calls between 10 and 25 health facility managers every quarter when issues arise. Whenever security protocols allow, WHO staff from different teams visit facilities to monitor project implementation and follow-up on activities.
WHO regularly provides critical infection prevention supplies, including personal protective equipment, safety boxes, and segregated garbage bins. These provisions ensure that health workers can implement waste management protocols effectively, safeguarding both patients and staff.
Since 2022, WHO has trained over 8,000 health workers to integrate environmental and social standards (ESS) into their daily routines. One trainee remarked, “This training has empowered us to protect our environment while improving patient care.”
ESS has been integrated in WHO technical programmes in Yemen on quality of care and hospital resilience. Quality teams established in EHCP hospitals include a waste management focal point who monitors the situation regularly. In line with the WHO Hospital Safety Index, disaster management committees in a growing number of facilities assess the situation and seek to remedy any waste management issues, using hospital budgets. This includes, for example, ensuring that sharps safety boxes are available in all departments.
Moving forward, WHO, in collaboration with the World Bank, will intensify its support for health facilities, ensuring compliance with waste management protocols and ESS. This includes expanding monitoring coverage, enhancing local capacity, and fostering partnerships to achieve universal safe waste disposal across Yemen’s health sector.
Empowering Yemen’s Health Workforce: WHO Drives Capacity-Building and Innovation
WHO hospital resilience capacity-building in the renovated training room at Al Jumhoria Hospital in Aden / WHO Yemen2 January 2025, Aden, Yemen – Skilled health workers are the backbone of strong health systems. Yet, in Yemen, the ongoing humanitarian crisis has severely disrupted their access to continuing professional development (CPD), threatening the delivery of essential healthcare services.
In partnership with the World Bank through the Emergency Human Capital Project (EHCP), WHO has launched extensive capacity-building initiatives, reaching thousands of health workers and introducing sustainable approaches that strengthen Yemen’s healthcare system.
WHO provides training, workshops and other capacity-building activities using WHO guidelines, technical packages and other tools. Because of the deteriorating public sector infrastructure, these activities have often taken place in hotels in major cities.
Recognizing the challenges faced by female health workers due to movement restrictions in some governorates, WHO adopted a decentralized training approach. For instance, in Hadramaut, Lahj and Marib, decentralization allowed female workers to attend CPD sessions locally, significantly increasing their participation.
During field visits to governorates, WHO staff members noted a willingness among health facility managers to invest in training venues, equipment and supplies for their staff, using their own budgets, prompting WHO to shift towards using training venues in health facilities. This resulted in immediate cost savings, in terms of venue hire and catering costs, and increased the opportunities for immediate practice and on-site support as part of the capacity-building activities. Field visits revealed a growing commitment among health facility managers to invest in training venues. WHO’s subsequent shift to facility-based training not only reduced costs but also enabled trainees to immediately apply their skills in real-world settings, fostering sustainable improvements.
A national quality strategy stakeholder engagement workshop led by WHO in the recently renovated training room at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Aden / WHO YemenAfter 2 years of implementing this approach, other benefits are emerging. Health facility managers are increasingly investing in upgrading their training venues. The investments serve a dual purpose: they enable access to CPD for health workers, and strengthen partnerships with UN agencies and non-governmental organizations.
One result is the growing institutionalization of training programmes based on WHO guidelines and other high quality technical packages.
In 2022, WHO led a campaign to increase the number of health workers with skills in basic and advanced life support. As of 2024, this curriculum has been integrated into routine refresher training at several hospitals, including Marib and Sayoun general hospitals. WHO training courses on hospital care and management, quality of care and infection prevention and control have similarly been integrated in CPD curricula.
Across Yemen, health facilities have embraced WHO’s approach, investing in training infrastructure. From the Central Public Health Laboratory in Aden to Ibn Khaldoun Governorate Hospital in Lahj, these upgrades are transforming local capacity to deliver quality healthcare.
Moving forward, WHO, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health and Population and health facility managers, will expand access to capacity-building for health workers. These efforts aim to ensure that Yemen’s healthcare system is equipped to meet the evolving needs of its population.
Learn more:
https://www.emro.who.int/yemen/news/who-advocacy-to-empower-female-health-workers-in-yemen.html
https://www.emro.who.int/yemen/news/strengthening-laboratory-capacities-in-yemen.html
Strengthening Yemen’s health security
24 February 2025 – In December 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) held in a three-day workshop in Aden to strengthen Yemen’s notification and information-sharing capacities for acute public health events in Yemen. Against the backdrop of Yemen’s protracted conflict and fragile health system, the event marked a pivotal step in bolstering the country’s ability to respond to public health emergencies.
"This workshop is a turning point for Yemen's health security,” said Dr Abdullah Dahan the vice minister, at the opening of the workshop.
Implementing the International Health Regulations
The International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 provide a legally binding framework to prevent, detect and respond to public health risks that cross borders and threaten populations globally. Effective implementation of IHR requires multisectoral collaboration, robust partnerships and the active participation of government bodies and stakeholders.
Yemen faces substantial obstacles to IHR implementation due to the ongoing conflict. The country’s health infrastructure has been severely damaged, millions have been displaced and recurrent outbreaks of communicable diseases, such as cholera and dengue, continue to strain limited resources.
To address these challenges, WHO has been undertaking activities to enhance IHR capacities in the country, with a focus on verifying signals, monitoring outbreaks of diseases such as measles and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), and facilitating bilateral discussions among IHR national focal points.
A workshop to build capacities
The workshop brought together 35 participants, including IHR national focal points, senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Population, and surveillance and points of entry staff. Key stakeholders from other sectors, such as animal health, the environment, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Committee for Atomic Energy, were also represented.
The workshop involved a blend of presentations and interactive sessions, allowing participants to share their experiences and insights.
The programme of the workshop included:
an overview of the IHR 2005, with a focus on early warning and response;
Yemen’s progress in implementing the IHR, including achievements and persistent challenges;
practical sessions on IHR communication and collaboration, including through WHO’s Event Information Site and Disease Outbreak News;
tabletop exercises simulating real-life scenarios, such as a cholera outbreak in an emergency setting, to practice risk assessment and rapid response; and
an introduction to using risk analysis tools, such as an initial risk assessment algorithm and rapid risk assessment frameworks, in various scenarios, including dengue and chemical events.
Drafting Yemen’s first SOP for IHR communication
The workshop culminated in a session in which participants collaborated to develop an IHR coordination and communication mechanism tailored to Yemen’s specific needs. This included defining the roles and responsibilities of IHR national focal points, technical teams and other stakeholders, and outlining protocols to enhance the efficiency of the information flow.
A key outcome was the drafting of Yemen’s first standard operating procedure (SOP) for IHR communication, a critical document for strengthening Yemen’s health security.
Ongoing commitment and collaboration
With the new SOP in place, Yemen is now better equipped to address public health risks and respond to emergencies effectively. WHO remains committed to supporting Yemen in overcoming systemic barriers to IHR implementation.
Future efforts will focus on further capacity-building, institutionalizing multisectoral frameworks and ensuring the country is prepared to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies, while minimizing disruptions to international trade and travel.
A call to action: Join WHO in strengthening health security
This workshop was not just a milestone for Yemen but was also a testament to the power of collaboration in protecting global health. WHO calls upon governments, partners and stakeholders to join us in this mission and ensure that no outbreak goes unnoticed or unaddressed. Together, we can build a safer, healthier future for all.
WHO calls for emergency health funding to save millions of lives in Yemen
16 January 2025, Sana’a, Yemen – As part of WHO’s Health Emergency Appeal for 2025, the WHO country office in Yemen is appealing for US$ 57.8 million to reach 10.5 million people with life-saving emergency health assistance in 2025.
“Every year of this prolonged crisis, human vulnerabilities increase, and more families, women and children are exposed to diseases that can be prevented through access to basic services,” says Dr Ferima Coulibaly-Zerbo, WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Yemen. “Urgent support is needed to enable the overstretched health system to respond to this devastating health emergency, in which 19.6 million people struggle to access the most basic health services and hundreds of facilities are at risk of closure.”
In 2024, Yemen reported over 250 000 suspected cholera cases and 861 associated deaths, the highest burden of cholera globally. The situation is compounded by recurrent outbreaks of other diseases, including measles, dengue fever and polio. Additionally, it is estimated that over 609 000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.
Moreover, the impact of climate change is becoming increasingly severe in the country, with annual events threatening many lives; floods in 2024 affected more than 1.3 million people, resulting in 427 deaths and injuries, and damaging infrastructure such as the electricity supply and health facilities, as well as stocks of medicines, supplies and equipment, in multiple governorates.
Compounding this situation are the escalating regional hostilities that have triggered retaliatory airstrikes and disrupted critical imports and the operation of health facilities, threatening Yemen’s fragile health system and further straining an overwhelmed humanitarian response.
“The funding received from international donors has enabled WHO and its partners to sustain lifesaving health services in Yemen, addressing critical health priorities and responding to multiple health crises, and has enabled the delivery of medical equipment, supplies, training and other support to hospitals and health facilities that provide a wide range of services,” explains Dr Ferima Coulibaly-Zerbo. “Nevertheless, funding for health fell far short of the target for 2024, forcing WHO and many health partners to choose between equally critical services.”
The funds provided to the WHO-led Health Cluster in 2024 represented just 49.5% of the US$ 249.5 million required to provide the needed critical services to the most vulnerable people in the country. This dire situation calls for greater international support and a coordinated response to address the needs of communities grappling with a decade-long conflict.
Yemen requires sustained support from the international community to ensure that key health priorities are addressed. This includes: (1) strengthening disease surveillance, laboratories and rapid response capabilities to promptly identify, treat and control epidemic-prone disease outbreaks, minimizing their public health impact; (2) the procurement and distribution of essential medicines, medical supplies and equipment to improve emergency preparedness and response; (4) building the technical capacity of health care workers in the management of severe cases of communicable diseases, injuries and mass casualties, to reduce the associated morbidity and mortality; (5) prioritizing access to primary health care services by vulnerable groups, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas; and (6) building the capacity of the health authorities and health partners to provide minimum service packages and enhance preparedness for health emergencies through assessing risks and developing contingency plans for the priority hazards.
“Every day the absence of safe services is threatening millions of lives, malnutrition is taking away the future of countless children, and preventable diseases are affecting many families when they should not,” says Dr Ferima Coulibaly-Zerbo. “The people of Yemen must not be left behind. The efforts made by the international community are contributing to a future where inclusive and sustainable development is not a far-fetched hope.”
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