In Yemen, 19.7 million people lack access to basic health services. Only 52 percent of health facilities in Yemen are fully functioning and of those, most lack specialty physicians, equipment, and basic medicines. These gaps impact Yemenis ability to access health services, especially among the most vulnerable, such as women and children. Yemen’s mortality rate of children under five is 41.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, the infant mortality rate is 33 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the neonatal mortality rate is 22 deaths per 1,000 live births. In addition, the weakened health care system has resulted in the re-emergence of preventable diseases, from cholera outbreaks to new cases of diphtheria, measles, and polio.
USAID RESPONSE
USAID partners with the Yemeni government and local partners to improve maternal, newborn, and child health, nutrition, and reproductive health and family planning services by promoting healthy behaviors and strengthening the country’s health sector. USAID builds capacity within Yemen’s health systems at the community and primary care level, provides essential supplies and equipment to health centers and hospitals, reduces structural and individual-level barriers to accessing care, and spreads awareness and prevention messages to encourage vaccination and curb the spread of communicable diseases. This includes building the skills of health facility staff and community midwives to deliver higher quality care, engaging communities to promote healthy behaviors, improving district health authorities’ management skills, strengthening the referral system for complicated cases to receive specialized care, and strengthening Yemen’s health management information system to provide data for decision-makers.
RESULTS
- The USAID Yemen Systems, Health, and Resilience Project operated in Aden, Lahj, and Ta’izz governorates. The activity trained 862 community midwives and 426 reproductive health volunteers, increasing access to health care for women of reproductive age and children under five.
- Trained 678 health facility service providers on evidence-based reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition services. This improved access to quality health care for mothers, pregnant and lactating women, and children.
- Promoted better nutrition for families by increasing access to high quality nutrition services and strengthening the government’s ability to deliver those services. USAID activities referred 4,429 malnourished children for appropriate follow-up and care.
- Provided diarrhea treatment to 17,000 children under five years of age.
- Vaccinated 10,000 infants under one year old against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
- Trained healthcare providers in 219 health facilities to deliver high quality family planning services.
- Provided family planning methods to more than 647,000 women.
- Trained 854 community health workers.
- Delivered family planning messages to 115,635 people.
