Mrs Yassmin with her malnourished daughter Arhaf at Al-Sadaqah Hospital in Aden. The hospital is supported by WHO and KSrelief. Photo: WHO/Nesma Khan

30 March 2021 – Arahaf was only aged 40 days and weighed 1.650 kg when her family, displaced from Taiz due to the ongoing fighting, brought her to Al Sadaqa Hospital in Aden.  

"As we couldn't feed her properly, we were advised to bring her here not to lose her," said Arahaf's mother, Yasmin. 

Arahaf received specialized treatment in the hospital's therapeutic feeding centre supported by the World Health Organization and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief). 

"Arahaf has been getting better thanks to the free treatment and formula milk she's been receiving," said Yasmin.

Al Sadaqa therapeutic feeding centre is one of the 90 supported by WHO and KSrelief across Yemen, through a joint project to fight child malnutrition by sustaining essential nutrition services and enhancing access to life-saving interventions, including for the most vulnerable populations. Funded at US$ 5.5 million, the partnership was signed in September 2020 as part of a broader US$ 46 million agreement between the 2 organizations. It aims to treat 23 428 under 5 severely malnourished children with medical complications free of charge.  

Al Sadaqa Hospital receives increasing malnourished children from Aden and the neighbouring governorates.

“Thanks to the support of WHO and KSrelief, we've been able to provided severely malnourished children with the much-needed, often life-saving emergency nutrition support” says Nasra Mohammed, Head of the Department of Malnutrition in Al-Saddaqa Hospital in Aden. Photo: WHO

"Every day, we receive around 4 new cases of child malnutrition in our department. Recently, 35 cases from other governorates like Al-Hudaydah, Lahj and Taizz were also admitted in our therapeutic feeding centre," said Nasra Mohammed, Head of the Al-Sadaqa Hospital Malnutrition Department.

"We are working hard to help them, but the nutritional situation in Yemen has worsened. However, thanks to the support of WHO and KSrelief, we've been able to work around the clock the provide children with the much-needed, often life-saving emergency nutrition support," she added. 

Acute malnutrition among young children and mothers in Yemen has increased with each year of conflict with a significant deterioration during 2020 driven by high disease rates, such as diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and cholera, and rising food insecurity rates. 

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Acute Malnutrition report released in February 2021, nearly 2.3 million children under 5 in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year.  Of whom 400 000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could potentially die if they do not receive urgent treatment. At the same time, around 1.2 million pregnant or breastfeeding women in Yemen are projected to be acutely malnourished in 2021. 

Among the worst-hit governorates are Aden, Al Dhale, Hajjah, Al-Hudaydah, Lahj, Taizz and Sana'a City, which account for over half of expected acute malnutrition cases in 2021. 

"Most of the mothers in the region are uneducated and don't know that kids need only breastfeeding during their first 6 months. In addition to providing children with life-saving treatment, we are working at the community level to raise the mothers' awareness of the importance of breastfeeding," said WHO Nutrition team lead in Yemen Dr Ferima Coulibaly-Zerbo.

Abdullah, a 2-year-old with severe acute malnutrition from Aden governorate, has been admitted to Al-Buriqa Health Complex in Aden to receive emergency nutrition care. 

"My husband is a porter, and we cannot afford to buy food and medicines for our son," said Wedian, Abdullah's mother.

Baby Abdullah, 2 years old, plays with his mother at Buriqa health complex’s therapeutic feeding center supported by WHO and KSrelief. Photo: WHO/Nesma Khan

"Thanks to the care he's been receiving here, Abdullah's health has greatly improved," she added. 

Thanks to the support of KSrelief, WHO will be able to distribute admission kits and water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) kits, to support the care of children admitted at the therapeutic feeding centres. Their caregivers will also receive nutrition counselling, making the total number of direct beneficiaries of the project 46 857 people.

The project targets all governorates classified at levels 3 (crisis) and 4 (emergency) according to the 2019 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Priority will be given to 226 districts identified at high risk by the Nutrition Cluster because of their high food insecurity levels, high population density, and vulnerable internally displaced and refugee populations.

The project will also rehabilitate or equip 45 out of the 90 therapeutic feeding centres while establishing 13 new centres to enhance access to treatment and health services in districts where acute malnutrition is a public health concern. A total of 1400 health workers will be skilled to ensure high-quality services. 

"The generous contribution from KSrelief will help WHO bolster its malnutrition response. The timely support is particularly welcome as Yemen faces unprecedented rates of child malnutrition," said Dr Adham Ismail, WHO Representative in Yemen.

The long-lasting support aims to benefit over 4.5 million children under 5 in the upcoming years, including children living in areas surrounding the targeted therapeutic feeding centres.

Samer weighed only 3.3 kgs with a 10.9 cm mid upper arm circumference and suffered from medical complications. Thanks to the treatment and nutritional food he had received at Al-Modhafar therapeutic feeding centre supported by WHO and KSrelief, he recovered, and his appetite eventually improved. Photo: Humanitarian Aid and Development Organization

30 March 2021 – In Yemen, child malnutrition is of great concern riven by the conflict and its economic impact, including high rates of diarrhoea, respiratory infections, cholera, and rising food insecurity rates.

Samer Abdulwadood was born 7 months ago in Salh district, Taizz governorate, where his low-income family temporarily settled up to flee the region's ongoing fighting.

Samer's father managed to find a job as a motorcycle transporter, bringing people from one place to another. But he could barely provide a living for the family.

Without the daily nutritional intake necessary to maintain him in good health, Samer ended up suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications.

Half of the children under the age of 5 (2.3 million) in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, of whom 400 000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could die if they do not receive urgent treatment.

The figures mark an increase in acute malnutrition and severe acute malnutrition, including with medical complications of 16% and 22%, respectively, among children under-5 years from 2020. 

Within this context, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) are continuing their joint fight against child malnutrition in Yemen by sustaining essential nutrition services and enhancing access to life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable populations.

Samer's 20-year-old mother is a housewife. She was desperate about her son's severe condition.

"Seeing him so feeble, without being able to help him made me feel useless," she said.

To detect malnutrition cases among children under-5 years of age, WHO has set up a nationwide nutrition surveillance system, a network of sites located in areas with the highest burden of malnutrition, to enable health workers to find, refer and treat these children.

Samer was screened for malnutrition by community health workers deployed by the Humanitarian Aid and Development Organization's (HAD) therapeutic feeding programme in the nearby Al-Modhafar district supported by WHO and KSrelief. He weighed only 3.3 kgs with a middle upper arm circumference of 10.9 cm and suffered from medical complications.  

Samer was then transferred to the district's therapeutic feeding centre.

"He was in a critical condition and needed immediate attention to recover," said Dr Mahmoud, Nutrition Officer at the Al-Modhafar therapeutic feeding cemtre.

But recovering from malnutrition can take weeks. To encourage the mothers to stay at the nutrition ward, HAD provides them with food, hygiene kits and transportation allowance. The programme also includes infant and young child feeding sessions to avoid any future relapse or deterioration.

With the support of KSrelief, WHO supports 90 therapeutic feeding centres across 20 governorates in Yemen. This joint effort has helped to cure 7614 severely malnourished children since September 2020.

Recovering from malnutrition can take weeks. To encourage the mothers to stay at the nutrition ward, HAD provides them with food, hygiene kits and transportation allowance. Photo: HAD

Thanks to the treatment and nutritional food he had received, Samer recovered, and his appetite eventually improved. The medical team decided to refer him to the nearest supplementary feeding centre to finalize the treatment cycle. Thirty days later, he was referred to the Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme to ensure he would not suffer again from malnutrition.

"The project raised my awareness of how to take care of my children safely," said Samer's mother, who was sensitized about the importance of taking care of her children's cleanliness and choosing the right diet for them.

"After seeing the positive impact of this programme on Samer, my relatives and neighbours also brought their children for malnutrition screening and treatment," she added.

A child receives an oral cholera vaccine during the campaign. Photo: WHO

15 March 2021 – Yemen's conflict has resulted in a large-scale public health crisis, with a spiral of epidemic-prone infectious diseases, including the worst cholera outbreak ever recorded, with over 2.5 million suspected cases since October 2016. In 2020, a total of 230 540 suspected cholera cases and 84 associated deaths were reported nationwide. Areas that lack access to clean water and proper sanitation conditions are the worst hit.  

WHO and health partners have been supporting health authorities to respond to this ongoing cholera outbreak. The response has included case management, surveillance and laboratory diagnostic capacity, hotspot mapping and oral cholera vaccine (OCV) campaign planning and implementation, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support, and risk communication.

As part of this effort, in December 2020 and February 2021, WHO, in cooperation with UNICEF and the World Bank through the Emergency Health and Nutrition Project, supported the Ministry of Public Health and Population in conducting an oral cholera vaccination campaign in Hajr district in Hadramaut governorate and Al Dhalea and Al Azareq districts in Al Dhalea governorate.

As many people in these rural districts face difficulties in reaching health care centres, the campaign has assigned fixed and mobile teams to cover over 32 000 households and over 188 000 people in the 2 governorates. 

"Because of the continuing conflict and COVID-19 consequences, access of the Yemeni people to basic health services remains a major concern. We have to proactively reach out to the population in need, including those in camps for the internally displaced," said Dr Adham Ismail, WHO Representative in Yemen. 

As of 10 March 2021, Yemen's health authorities reported 2590 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 655 associated deaths, but health partners remain concerned that under-reporting may be continuing in some areas of the country due to many reasons, including lack of testing facilities and delays in seeking treatment. The pandemic has further worsened the population's access to, and utilization of, health services.  

A total of 215 vaccination teams were mobilized to reach over 32 000 households and over 188 000 people in the governorates. Photo: WHO

Nabilah Ahmed Ali Saleh works as a midwife in Jalilah medical unit in Al-Azareq district. She volunteered to participate as a vaccinator in the campaign, working hand in hand with health educators to convince people to take the vaccines. 

"It is my responsibility to provide people with correct information about the importance and safety of vaccination," said Nabilah. "I was delighted to take part in this campaign and serve these people who otherwise would not have been able to get vaccinated." 

Gomea Thabit, 25 years, lives in an internally displaced persons camp in Al Azareq district, where she has settled with her family after having fled the violence in Al Hudaydah governorate.  

"I took the vaccines with my children. I advise all parents to receive the vaccine to protect themselves and their children from the disease," she said. 

The Yemen Emergency Health and Nutrition Project aims to strengthen basic health and essential nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene services. It also aims to support and preserve the national implementation capacity by investing in the existing, local structure in the health and water and sanitation sectors, which will help maintain the main foundations for a speedy recovery in the post-conflict phase in the future.

Yemen Emergency Health and Nutrition Project