KSrelief and WHO sign $15mln agreements to support Yemeni health sector

The agreements were signed Sunday by KSrelief General Supervisor Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and the WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari.

The deals are being implemented as part of the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.

Under the first agreement, the Yemeni health sector will be strengthened with basic and life-saving health equipment. This includes new laboratory tools, and medicines to treat infectious diseases, KSrelief said.

That agreement will benefit 1.27 million individuals in several Yemeni governorates, with a total value of $11.2 million.

The second agreement includes the provision of five oxygen stations and logistical means of transporting gas, training hospital workers, and station maintenance, with the aim of “increasing the readiness of health facilities (and) sustaining health services” in the governorates of Shabwa, Marib, Abyan and Hadramout.

It will benefit 41,738 people at a cost of $1 million.

The third agreement will support the logistics services linked to the COVID-19 vaccine for 10 percent of the Yemeni population, with the aim of increasing awareness about the vaccine and boosting uptake.

With a total value of $2.8 million, the final agreement is expected to support 886,341 people in all of Yemen’s governorates, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Al-Rabeeah praised the partnership between Saudi Arabia and the WHO, which he said aims to alleviate human suffering wherever it is.

He said KSrelief has carried out several initiatives with the UN body in the past few years for the benefit of Yemenis. These programs have had a great impact in addressing many diseases and pandemics, he said, the latest of which is COVID-19. He also praised the joint work on addressing the cholera epidemic in the country.

Al-Mandhari said the Kingdom, represented by KSrelief, has supported various UN programs around the world.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari added: “Through these agreements signed today, we have opened a new chapter for the partnership between us, and we hope for this partnership to continue and extend in Yemen, and the region and beyond.”