WHO: Helping Yemen's health system cope with COVID-19 and offer life-saving services

In addition to community-based efforts, the World Health Organization (WHO) is partnering with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) to maintain the COVID-19 response and key services at specialized healthcare facilities.

WHO will carry out these focused and extended health initiatives in Yemen over the next ten months with funds from KSrelief totaling $10.86 million. 

Interventions are suggested based on vulnerability evaluations of aggravating factors such as morbidity, environmental risks, and social determinants of health. Providing $6.23 million in equipment, medicines, and materials to limit the spread of the COVID-19 response in Yemen and assist health authorities in reducing the number of cases referred to health facilities; and providing $2.17 million in equipment and medicines to sustain and improve the quality of essential services provided by health facilities and laboratories in Yemen's priority districts.

The project interventions aim to sustain Yemen's COVID-19 response, limiting virus transmission and assisting health authorities in reducing the number of cases sent to health institutions. This contract will improve existing COVID-19 response activities and services to increase COVID-19 response and program delivery. These actions should have an indirect or direct impact on 4.5 million of the 7.3 million people targeted by the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.

As part of the project's attempts to safeguard key health services, increased epidemiological and laboratory surveillance will be introduced to reduce the recurrence of outbreaks. Furthermore, noncommunicable disease treatment, general care, child health, reproductive and maternal health, dialysis, and other services will be provided with the appropriate equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals. These efforts should directly or indirectly help around 2.5 million people. Interventions will focus on improving congested primary and secondary health care facilities' preventative, response, and referral capacity. Throughout Yemen, community-based initiatives will be implemented to relieve demand on health-care institutions.

All project activities will be carried out in close cooperation with the Ministries of Public Health in Sana'a and Aden. WHO will ensure their long-term survival through coordination mechanisms and capacity-building with national public and civil society organizations. WHO Yemen will collaborate closely with all stakeholders and partners to create and monitor important performance indicators (KPIs).

Senior management and personnel from the WHO national office, regional office, and headquarters will also work with Ministry officials to guarantee resource efficiency and the dissemination of lessons learned to stakeholders and partners.

"It is exceedingly difficult to provide basic services at health care institutions throughout Yemen, despite the fact that the vast majority of Yemen's 30.7 million people require these services," says the UN. Dr. Adham continued. Dr. Adham Rashid Ismail Abdel-Moneim, WHO Representative in Yemen These initiatives, which will be implemented over the following ten months by WHO and KSrelief, will be vital for millions of Yemenis, despite the fact that only roughly half of the country's health institutions are currently fully operating.