RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has inked deals worth $15 million with the World Health Organization to support Yemen’s health sector.
The agreements were signed on Sunday by KSrelief General Supervisor Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and 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 the logistical means to transport gas, train hospital workers, and for 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 Yemen’s governorates, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Rabeeah praised the partnership between Saudi Arabia and WHO to address human suffering wherever it occurred.
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 was COVID-19. He also praised the joint work in addressing the cholera epidemic in the country.
Al-Mandhari said that the Kingdom, represented by KSrelief, has supported UN programs around the world.
“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,” he said.
