Better Health For All

The protracted war in Yemen is among the world’s most devastating humanitarian disasters. The war has in many parts of the country destroyed the health and sanitation infra-structure, there is rampant inflation and increased levels of malnutrition especially in the poorer, more vulnerable sections of the population. These factors have enabled a resurgence of infectious diseases, an example being the cholera epidemic. With no peace in sight, the health of the population of Yemen, unfortunately, continues to deteriorate, as seen in the Yemen humanitarian dashboard OCHA (Jan – April 2018) published by the World Health Organization.

The Yemen SIGs main objectives are:

1. To provide a forum for FPH members who are interested in the contribution that public health can make to improving the population of Yemen in a war and post-war situation
2. To contribute new ideas and possible policy avenues to the health agenda of Yemen.
3. To pilot and evaluate the use of social media to disseminate preventative messages to populations displaced by war and to areas where the health system has collapsed, starting with cholera
4. To support the work of the Global Violence Prevention SIG in collating and developing a body of evidence-based knowledge on the important actions to take and develop to rebuild the health system during and post-conflict

Yemen Health Mobile Cholera Project (YHMCP)

One of the first projects we are undertaking is the Yemen Health Mobile Cholera Project. Cholera outbreak has affected more than a million people and left more than 2,500 dead.  The YHMCP aims to contribute to the prevention of cholera by using simple health messages sent via Whatsapp to people in the most affected urban areas in Yemen who have poor or no access to health services due to the war. The messages and the approaches will be evaluated to adapt them as necessary to help ensure the objectives of the project are achieved. The project is being led by the Yemen SIG in association with the Liverpool Friends of Yemen, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Faculty of Public Health.

The Yemen SIG will continue to meet on a quarterly basis and new members are welcome!

Written by Dr Ann Hoskins, Chair, Yemen SIG at FPH. You can contact Ann via email: drannhoskins@gmail.com.