3 October 2019 – As Yemen approaches more than 4 years of war, an estimated 20 million people are in need of access to healthcare. Through the generous support of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), WHO has been able to meet health needs in the midst of this evolving conflict.

Strategic partnerships save lives

“In Yemen, the operative word is “survival” -- not only are we meeting the immediate and urgent health needs of the people, we are also protecting the health system from collapse—and we cannot do it alone. Thanks to OFDA and other partners—we don’t have to.” said Altaf Musani, WHO Representative in Yemen.

Support from OFDA, one of the largest donors to the health and nutrition response in Yemen has enabled WHO to meet nutrition needs and increase health care access through the health service delivery mechanism known as the Minimum Service Package (MSP). The combined lines of efforts in these two major response areas aims to reach millions.

Yemen is a population on the brink of starvation, and an estimated 20 million Yemenis are food insecure—the most vulnerable of these are children. Through critical funding from OFDA in the amount of US$ 27 million, WHO will be able to sustain 60 feeding centres—increasing lives saved in the upwards of an estimated 15,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with medical complications.

These children are the sickest of the sick, and since the country is on the brink of famine, there are plans to add 30 more feeding centers to reach more children, with OFDA paving the way forward.

Overcoming challenges, strengthening nutrition response capacity

This the world’s most challenging operational environment. Mounting a sustained and effective response to critical health needs is next to impossible when done alone, but thanks to OFDA and its partnership with the WHO, national NGOs and international NGOs have been pulled in and expanded. And, the consolidation of their efforts has saved children from malnutrition and worse yet—death. 

“Yemen is an “all-risk” environment. Day in and day out we face challenges no other mission faces. This is still the world’s largest humanitarian crisis that is politically complex and operationally challenging. Yemen cannot wait and we will not allow innocent Yemenis to die unnecessarily, said Altaf Musani, WHO Representative in Yemen.

This has been a long and valued partnership, for which WHO is grateful. This funding will allow WHO to deliver health services and increase access to it, scale up cholera preparedness efforts in close coordination with the Health Cluster partners.

Note to editors

The 2019 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) requires US$4.2 billion to assist more than 20 million Yemenis including 10 million people who rely entirely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs every month. As of today, the YHRP is 56% funded, we need to close this gap. At the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen convened by the UN Secretary-General in February 2019, the United Nations and humanitarian partners were promised USD$ 2.6 billion to meet the urgent needs. Humanitarian agencies are appealing to donors to provide funds as quickly as possible.

3 October 2019 – WHO and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) are working together to fight malnutrition in Yemen. This valued partner has generously donated critical funding in the amount of EUR 2 million in support of the nutrition response in Yemen. This  is a testament to the Government of Italy’s sustained commitment to the people of Yemen. This new funding is a symbol of the continuing partnership between AICS, WHO, and the Government of Italy, which started in 2018.

People on the brink of starvation

Almost 20 million people in Yemen are food insecure, while an estimated quarter of a million are on the brink of starvation.

“I am grateful for this partnership, and the trust built between our agencies. We are both committed to meeting the needs of over 50 000 children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with medical complications. We have saved the lives of over 8,000 children but the fight is far from over—and together we have made progress.” said Altaf Musani, WHO Representative in Yemen.

AICS and the Government of Italy, along with other active partners, are frontrunners in the fight against malnutrition, giving support to the response in Yemen. People are barely able to survive rather than thrive, and their immune systems are compromised by lack of nutrition, which is even more apparent in children, leaving them weak to fight multiple diseases and infections. 

“Yemen is a country where more than half of the population is unemployed, due to destroyed civil and social infrastructure—so, this support is truly life-saving on all fronts. A family does not have to lose everything to treat their starving child,” said Altaf Musani, WHO Representative in Yemen. 

This critical project aims to treat thousands of SAM children with medical complications. When these children are treated in these centers, their parents are relieved of the financial and emotional burden of their child’s suffering. This contribution is representative of half of what was pledged in February’s Yemen Pledge Conference, and has been essential to the nutrition response moving forward.

Note to editors

The 2019 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) requires US$4.2 billion to assist more than 20 million Yemenis including 10 million people who rely entirely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs every month. As of today, the YHRP is 56% funded, we need to close this gap. At the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen convened by the UN Secretary-General in February 2019, the United Nations and humanitarian partners were promised USD$ 2.6 billion to meet the urgent needs. Humanitarian agencies are appealing to donors to provide funds as quickly as possible.

Sana’a, 21 August 2019 — A 6-day oral cholera vaccination campaign reached almost 400 000 people, including almost 65 000 children under the age of 5 in Aden, Al Dhale’e and Taiz, where high numbers of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhoea cases have been recorded.

The first few months of 2019 saw an increase of reported acute watery diarrhoea cases in over 95% of districts across Yemen. Between January and the end of July 2019, there have been nearly 536 000 suspected cases and 773 associated deaths. Children under 5 represent one quarter of all suspected cases.

The vaccination campaign, run by local health authorities, UNICEF and WHO, was made possible thanks to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and to the World Bank’s ‘Emergency Health and Nutrition Project.’

“Amid the fighting in surrounding areas, over 800 health workers, brave men and women, risked their lives to reach communities from cholera — these are the real heroes,” said Altaf Musani, WHO Representative in Yemen. 

“Thanks to the extraordinary commitment and dedication of Yemen’s local health workforce, hundreds of thousands of people from these priority districts were reached with vaccination against cholera,” said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, UNICEF Country Representative in Yemen. 

Since April 2017, the cholera and acute watery diarrhoea epidemic in Yemen has caused an estimated 2 million suspected cases and 3500 associated deaths. Almost one third have been in children under 5, including 711 associated deaths. The outbreak in Yemen remains the largest cholera in the world. 

Health partners throughout Yemen joined forces to control and prevent any future cholera outbreaks. UNICEF and WHO are working closely with the relevant health authorities and other humanitarian partners to respond.

Related links

Cholera

GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance

World Bank