WHO signs €3.4 million agreement with Germany to maintain health services in Yemen

The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that it has signed a €3.4 million agreement with the German government to maintain life-saving health and nutrition services in Yemen, at a time when Yemen is facing a protracted emergency of level 3, the highest level of health emergency for the World Health Organization.

The UN organization said in a statement on its official website that Yemen is facing an outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases, including vaccine-derived poliovirus (type 2), acute watery diarrhea and cholera, measles, diphtheria, malaria, and dengue fever.

The statement explained that between the start of the cholera outbreak in March 2024 and the end of September 2024, 204,000 suspected cases and 710 deaths were reported. Since the beginning of this year, 33,000 suspected cases of measles have been reported, with 280 deaths due to this disease.

Food insecurity is also worsening in Yemen. Nearly half of households now struggle to get enough food. The latest Integrated Phase Classification ( IPC ) results indicate high levels of malnutrition.

The statement said that by the end of 2024, more than 223,000 pregnant and lactating women and more than 600,000 children are expected to suffer from malnutrition.

He noted that among these children, nearly 120,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a 34% increase over the previous year.

The statement said that the new project agreement aims to enhance preparedness and response measures for health emergencies, focusing on responding to risks and priority areas.

The new project will also enhance surveillance and rapid response mechanisms, contribute to providing essential medicines and medical supplies, support life-saving basic health services, and empower qualified health workers.

To address malnutrition, the agreement aims to improve access to integrated nutrition services and ensure the operation of 96 specialized therapeutic nutrition centers to treat cases of malnutrition in children and those integrated into children’s departments.

The support will enable targeted therapeutic feeding centres to provide essential care for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications. Health cluster coordination mechanisms at national and governorate levels will also be supported.

The project implementation will also be facilitated by health partners, providing life-saving medicines and supplies as needed within the framework of the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.

The World Health Organization said that since 2017, the German government has been a key supporter of the World Health Organization, providing 25.4 million euros for interventions in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

She continued: “The German government’s contributions have enabled WHO to improve access to priority health services, enhance the availability of the minimum package of health care services in targeted facilities, respond rapidly to epidemics, strengthen disease surveillance and preparedness, and address severe acute malnutrition in children under five.

The statement concluded by noting that this partnership is essential to ensuring that millions of Yemenis, especially the most vulnerable groups, have access to health care during the ongoing conflict and existing humanitarian conditions.