The risk COVID-19 poses to public health in Yemen is unparalleled, pummelling a society and health system already weakened by over 5 years of ongoing conflict and vulnerabilities that existed before the war. 

Only half of the health facilities in Yemen are fully functional, and those operating are under severe shortages of essential equipment, supplies and medical staff. There is a huge lack of skilled health workers, and most health personnel have not received salaries for at least 2 years. Medical and paramedical staff lack training on case management, infection prevention and control and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to face COVID-19. 

None of this has deterred Dr Sami Al Hajj, a young doctor working at Science and Technology Hospital in Sana’ where he lives with his pregnant wife. 

After receiving calls and many messages on social media from people worried about the virus, Dr Sami printed a poster offering people in the community to stop him for a free consultation if they needed to and placed it at the back of his car. 30 people stop him each day, he says. 

He consults them  and refers them to the medical facilities where they can access medical support. 

WHO and aid agencies continue to ramp up COVID-19 response 

More than 16 million people are reached with awareness-raising activities, and support is given to  health workers across Yemen with over 227 500 PPE units. In addition, the United Nations has been providing living wages to 9000 frontline health care workers who would otherwise be unable to support their families due to the ongoing conflict.

But an unprecedented financial gap faced by the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan threatens its ability to provide a living wage for over 10 000 health care workers who staff Yemen's functioning hospitals and health facilities.

War, poverty, illness, family separation and now COVID-19 — coupled with a lack of access to basic services and employment opportunities — have also taken their toll on mental health. 

Generous and continuous support from the Government of Japan 

A new US$ 3 million contribution from the Government of Japan will give psychosocial support a fresh boost of support in health facilities in Yemen. 

It plays a critical role in supporting WHO’s humanitarian response in Yemen, with donations amounting to more than US$ 11.5 million between 2015 and 2020.

This new funding  will help strengthen mental health governance and  will allow WHO to coordinate capacity-building, support and supervision work with health authorities. 

In 2019, WHO supported more than 14 000 mental health consultations, providing with its partners more than 90 000 psychosocial support sessions. 

176 health facilities provided mental health and psychosocial support to those in need, including 47 hospitals, 63 health centres and 60 health units. 

In 2020, WHO requires US$ 234.4 million to continue delivering its life-saving programmes. To date, the funding gap at WHO remains above 90%.