WHO Yemen: Government of Yemen, WHO, UNICEF and FAO advance pandemic preparedness through Third Steering Committee Meeting

23 July 2026, Aden, Yemen

The Government of Yemen, together with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), today convened the third Steering Committee meeting of the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project (PPRP), reaffirming the country’s commitment to strengthen national capacities to prevent, detect and respond to future public health threats through a coordinated One Health approach.

Held in Aden, with hybrid participation from across Yemen and abroad, the meeting brought together senior representatives from the Ministry of Public Health and Population, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries, the Ministry of Water and Environment, WHO, UNICEF, FAO and national and international partners. The Steering Committee provides strategic direction and oversight and provides a platform for the coordination of multisectoral efforts to strengthen Yemen’s pandemic preparedness and response capacities.

Participants at the Steering Committee meeting reviewed annual and cumulative progress against project objectives, assessed implementation challenges and identified practical solutions to address bottlenecks. Discussions also focused on setting strategic priorities for the remaining implementation period while ensuring alignment with national priorities and evolving needs.

"Pandemics do not recognize borders or sectors. Strengthening preparedness requires sustained collaboration across human, animal and environmental health,” said WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Yemen Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain. “Through this project, WHO is proud to support the Government of Yemen and our partners in building stronger disease surveillance and laboratory systems, a skilled public health workforce and resilient institutions that can better prevent, detect early and respond to future health emergencies. Today’s Steering Committee reflects our shared commitment to advancing the One Health approach in building Yemen’s national capacity to protect the health of its people from all hazard emergencies and public health threats."

“Communities are the frontline of disease detection and outbreak response. Through the Pandemic Fund partnership between the Government of Yemen UNICEF, FAO and WHO, we are strengthening surveillance and response capacities from communities to national institutions. UNICEF is working with the Government of Yemen and partners to build a resilient community health platform that links households with health facilities and laboratories for timely detection and response to public health threats. The continued engagement of this Steering Committee reflects the importance of collaboration in building effective and sustainable pandemic preparedness systems.” said Mr. Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Representative a.i in Yemen.

The Steering Committee validated project progress and endorsed priority actions for the next implementation period, including strengthening multisectoral coordination, accelerating implementation, enhancing monitoring and reporting mechanisms and reinforcing national ownership and sustainability of the project through the established One Health Platform.

This steering committee meeting marks an important milestone in our collective efforts to strengthen Yemen's preparedness for future health threats through a One Health approach, which emphasizes the intrinsic links among human, animal, and environmental health. Dr Adam Yao, FAO Representative a.i. in Yemen, affirms, “FAO remains committed to working alongside our government counterparts and UN partners to enhance zoonotic disease surveillance, strengthen laboratory and veterinary capacities, and promote coordinated action that builds resilient food systems and safeguards livelihoods.”

The meeting concluded with agreement on an updated action plan, strengthened follow-up mechanisms to monitor implementation, and continued collaboration among government institutions, WHO, UNICEF, FAO and partners to ensure the project remains aligned with national priorities and contributes to stronger health security for the people of Yemen

The Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project (PPRP) is funded by the Pandemic Fund and jointly implemented by WHO, UNICEF and FAO, in close partnership with the Government of Yemen.

WHO, UNICEF and FAO express their appreciation to the Pandemic Fund for financial support which is enabling Yemen to enhance its capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies through investments in disease surveillance, laboratory systems, workforce development, emergency preparedness, risk communication and community engagement and One Health coordination.

Notes to editors

The Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project (PPRP) were launched in April 2024 to strengthen Yemen’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to pandemics and other public health emergencies through a multisectoral One Health approach.

The project supports strengthening surveillance systems, laboratory capacity, workforce development, emergency preparedness, action against antimicrobial resistance, points of entry and risk communication and community engagement, and promotes collaboration across the human, animal and environmental health sectors.

The third Steering Committee meeting:

• validated annual and cumulative project progress;
• agreed strategic priorities for the remaining implementation period;
• identified actions to address implementation bottlenecks;
• strengthened multisectoral coordination among government institutions and implementing partners;
• advanced efforts to institutionalize the national One Health Platform; and
• endorsed enhanced monitoring, reporting and action-tracking mechanisms.

For media inquiries, please contact:

• WHO Yemen Communications Team – mediayemen@who.int
• UNICEF Yemen Communications Team – yemenmedia@unicef.org

• FAO Yemen Communications Team – evani.debone@fao.org