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WHO and KSrelief are working together to support COVID-19 preparedness and response in Yemen
Cairo, 27 January 2021 – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) have joined forces in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen through a new project to support COVID-19 preparedness and response.
Under this new award, WHO will work with the Ministry of Public Health and Population to enable rapid detection and response to COVID-19 cases and clusters, including through an integrated, multisectoral coordination system at central and governorate levels and support to emergency operation centres (EOCs) across the country. Twenty-six main entry points to Yemen will be equipped to enable rapid COVID-19 detection.
Thanks to this partnership, critical support will continue to be provided to surveillance by supporting COVID-19 rapid response teams in high-priority districts. Furthermore, additional support will be provided to 1991 sentinel sites reporting through the Electronic Integrated Disease Early Warning System (EIDEWS). This surveillance system collects information on epidemic-prone diseases to trigger prompt public health interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality through early detection and rapid response to disease outbreaks, including COVID-19.
The joint project will also enhance the testing capacity of central public health laboratories throughout the country and support the prevention of COVID-19 transmission in health and non-health settings. Multifaceted support to health facilities will improve their capacity to receive COVD-19 patients by providing medical supplies and equipment and case management training for health workers.
"Thanks to this new contribution from KSrelief, WHO will be able to provide comprehensive support to the national COVID-19 response. It is particularity timely as WHO and health partners are preparing for a potential new spike in infections," said Dr Adham Ismail, WHO Representative in Yemen.
Funded at US$ 13 million, the project is part of a broader US$ 46 million agreement between the 2 organizations, signed in September 2020, that also included 3 other projects on nutrition, water and environmental sanitation services, and delivery of essential health services.
KSrelief has been the main funding partner of WHO Yemen in 2019–2020. Since October 2019, the partnership between the 2 organizations has helped preserve Yemen's health system, including through support to the most vulnerable. Continuous support from KSrelief has allowed WHO to facilitate the provision of life-saving medicines, including treatment for patients with chronic, life-threatening conditions, such as cancer and kidney failure. The partnership has also supported maternal and child health, including assistance to pregnant women for safe birth deliveries.
About the humanitarian crisis in Yemen
Yemen remains the world's worst humanitarian crisis and the WHO's most complex operation. Some 24.3 million people – 80% of the population – needed humanitarian assistance or protection in 2020.
The health system is on the brink of collapse. More than 17.9 million people (out of the total population of 30 million) needed health care services in 2020. At the same time, only half of the health facilities are fully or partially functioning. Those that remain open lack qualified health staff, essential medicines and medical equipment, such as masks and gloves, oxygen and other necessary supplies.
COVID-19 is underlying Yemen' public health vulnerabilities. As of 26 January 2021, Yemen's health authorities have reported 2122 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 616 associated deaths. Health partners are concerned that underreporting continues in some areas of the country due to a lack of testing facilities, delays in seeking treatment, stigma, difficulty accessing treatment centres or the perceived risks of seeking care. Moreover, it can indicate the large asymptomatic infections that are yet to be detected in the country. Health partners on the ground continue working towards increasing surveillance; deploying dedicated COVID-19 staff within agencies; tracking the virus's impact on routine priority health programmes; refining messaging to encourage behavioural change; and boosting intensive care unit (ICU) capacity.
Note to correspondents
Sana'a, 19 January 2021 - The World Health Organization (WHO) office in Yemen denies what has been reported in local media about its intention to stop its support to Yemen's health facilities with the fuel needed to operate them.
The office confirms that despite severe funding shortages, the necessary financial resources have been mobilized already to supply all 105 health facilities supported in 2020 with fuel until mid-February at least. Furthermore, 42 health facilities, most of them in the northern governorates of Yemen, will be provided with the needed fuel during the remainder of the year.
The office continues to discuss with donor partners ways to provide fuel for the remaining health facilities. At the same time, it is looking with health authorities into all funding scenarios, their potential implications and available options to ensure the continuity of this vital support for health facilities across Yemen.
WHO and KSrelief continue fight against child malnutrition in Yemen
Cairo, 18 January 2021 – 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.
Funded at US$ 5.5 million, the new partnership aims to treat 23 428 under-5 severely malnourished children with medical complications free of charge in 90 targeted therapeutic feeding centres across Yemen. Admission kits and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) kits will be dispatched to support the care of children admitted and their caregivers who 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 (IPC). Priority will be given to 226 districts identified at high risk by the Nutrition Cluster, based on the most updated evidence and the IPC findings for 2020, because of their high levels of food insecurity, high population density, and vulnerable internally displaced and refugee populations.
The project will rehabilitate 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.
“Thanks to the generous contributions of KSrelief, WHO will be able to provide these children with much needed, often life-saving assistance. The timely support is particularly welcome as Yemen faces unprecedented child malnutrition levels,” 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.
The partnership is part of a broader US$ 46 million agreement between WHO and KSrelief, signed in September 2020, that also included 3 other projects on COVID-19 preparedness and response, WASH, and the delivery of essential health services.
KSrelief was the main funding partner of WHO Yemen in 2019–2020. Since October 2019, the partnership between the two organizations has helped preserve Yemen's health system, including through support to the most vulnerable. Continuous support from KSrelief has allowed WHO to facilitate the provision of life-saving medicines, including treatment for patients with chronic, life-threatening conditions, such as cancer and kidney failure. The partnership has also supported maternal and child health, including assistance to pregnant women for safe birth deliveries.
WHO and KSrelief work together to improve water, sanitation and hygiene services in Yemen
Cairo, 5 January 2021- The World Health Organization (WHO) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) are working together to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in targeted health facilities and water quality monitoring and surveillance in cholera high-risk districts.
Through a new US$ 7 million award, a joint project will provide improved access and enhanced provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services to 45 health care facilities all over Yemen which had been identified with the most acute needs by the Health Cluster and the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan.
Improved and safe management of health care waste practices will be implemented in 117 health facilities and 100 diarrhoea treatment centres to prevent bloodborne and hospital-acquired infections, including COVID-19.
Water quality surveillance will be conducted with the provision of potable water quality testing kits in 33 cholera high-risk districts. Three regional water quality testing laboratories will be established in vulnerable areas to ensure the availability of a safe water supply.
"Improved WASH services at the hospital level will allow the functionality of preventative health programmes, including newborn care, elimination of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea and control of cholera," said Dr Adham Ismail, WHO Representative in Yemen.
"Through strengthening infection control practices and training health care personnel on safe waste management practices, the project will help enhance safe and environmentally sound management of health care waste and prevent adverse health and environmental impacts," he added.
Overall, the project will benefit over 653 000 people in priority cholera high-risk districts across Yemen.
The partnership is part of a broader US$ 46 million agreement between the 2 organizations, signed in September 2020, that also included 3 other projects on COVID-19 preparedness and response, nutrition, and the delivery of essential health services.
KSrelief has been the main funding partner of WHO Yemen in 2019–2020. Since October 2019, the partnership between the 2 organizations has helped preserve Yemen's health system, including through support to the most vulnerable. Continuous support from KSrelief has allowed WHO to facilitate the provision of life-saving medicines, including treatment for patients with chronic, life-threatening conditions, such as kidney failure. The partnership has also supported child immunization programmes and assistance to pregnant women for safe birth deliveries.
