Dorcas takes rapid action to address Yemen’s growing public health crisis

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Yemen is facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with an estimated 21.6 million people requiring humanitarian assistance in 2025. Despite this urgent need, attention and humanitarian funding remain far too limited. The country is also experiencing a critical public health and protection emergency, with widespread outbreaks of waterborne diseases including cholera, acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), measles, diphtheria, dengue fever, malaria and vaccine-derived polio.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent appeal for emergency health funding, as millions of lives are at risk. Health services in Yemen are overstretched and unable to meet the demands of this major emergency. Approximately 19.6 million people lack access to even the most basic healthcare, and hundreds of healthcare facilities are at risk of closure. Climate-related disasters, such as floods, are increasingly affecting people’s lives and damaging health infrastructure, further exacerbating the situation.

Crisis response by Dorcas

Dorcas is responding to this devastating humanitarian crisis, specifically the cholera outbreak, which has seen 72,144 confirmed cases and nearly 300 fatalities since 2024. In collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Water, we are implementing a multi-sector programme in Taiz and Aden. The project provides urgent water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) support to people in need, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees. This will restore access to safe drinking water, prevent the spread of disease, reduce infection risk for the most vulnerable communities, while building their capacity to respond to health emergencies.

To deliver this support, the programme focuses on the following activities:

Activities in Taiz:

• 145,971 people will receive safe, chlorinated water via water trucks for up to three months.
• The Ministry of Water will receive tools for sterilisation, chlorination and laboratory testing to improve local water management.
• Water safety will be regularly monitored.

Activities in Aden:

• 160 community health workers will be trained to promote hygiene practices and assist mobile medical teams in identifying and treating diseases, thereby reaching 4,000 people in need.
• The hygiene education programme will cover personal hygiene, safe water and food handling, and menstrual hygiene, and will use specially designed materials.
• 120 healthcare workers will receive refresher training.
• Mobile medical teams will provide essential health services to remote and displaced communities.
• 400 people will receive hygiene kits to support them in maintaining safe water and personal hygiene practices.

These efforts aim to reduce the spread of disease, improve community health and ensure access to vital services during the outbreak. Dorcas is committed to both providing much-needed humanitarian assistance and working towards sustainable solutions in Yemen.

05 September 2025