In Yemen as elsewhere, widespread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has posed a major public health threat. With support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), WHO has trained more than 1,100 health workers and community volunteers to communicate factual information about the vaccines – prompting many more Yemenis to accept them.
Lubna Mohammed Qasim, age 20, is a nurse in Marib, Yemen where she administers COVID-19 vaccines six days a week at the Mohammed Hael General Hospital.
Lubna has heard all the rumors circulating in Marib about the vaccines, most of them false and fear-based. But she is fully prepared to address them with facts, following a recent two-month roll-out of in-depth training that she received along with about 1,100 other community health workers and volunteers
“I was trained by WHO to convince the people here that these rumors are simply not true,” Lubna explained, as three men queued up at her desk inside the hospital main entrance to receive the single-dose Janssen vaccine.
“I also took the vaccine myself, in front of community members, to convince them about the importance and safety of being vaccinated,” she continued. “I learned a lot from the training – not just about how to properly administer the COVID-19 vaccines, but also how to counter these false and harmful rumors with the right facts and information.”
The KSrelief-funded WHO training has also enabled the subsequent expansion of COVID-19 vaccination sites to 1,400 locations across all IRG-controlled governorates and districts of eastern and southern Yemen to immunize target populations, including many vulnerable and internally displaced persons. These sites are mobilizing the 1,100 trained health care workers and community volunteers including Lubna, Amal Seif, and Fatima Mansour at the Muhammad Hayel Hospital to administer doses of AstraZeneca, Janssen, and SINOVAC vaccines, according to their availability and the preferences of the individuals they vaccinate.
Yet, community acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines continues to be undermined by the persistence of deeply-rooted rumors that serve to accelerate the spread of COVID-19, while placing unrelenting stress on Yemen’s severely overburdened health system.
For many months, Murad Ahmed, 38, was a firm believer in such rumors. Originally from Hodeidah governorate, Murad together with his wife and three children have lived in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Aden governorate since 2018.
“When I heard about the Corona vaccine, I was told that a person will die after two years if he takes the vaccine, and the least harm that can happen is that he can't have children," Murad said.
But his mind was changed when a team of vaccinators and health educators arrived to the IDP camp with clear and persuasive information that the vaccines are safe. When Murad became convinced about the importance of vaccines to protect himself, his family, and the community, he was happy to be the first in his family to receive the Janssen vaccine on 23 August 2022.
With support from KSrelief and other donors, WHO has delivered more than a million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX (a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines which the WHO co-directs with the GAVI vaccine alliance and other partners).
Preparations are now underway by WHO with the MOPHP in Aden to implement the first mass COVID19 vaccination campaign in partnership with UNICEF, covering 12 governorates across the south of Yemen.
"We have prepared a detailed plan for the governorate in preparation for the campaign,” said Mr. Zaid Al-Raai, Manager of the Health Education Department of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) in Marib. “Already we have administered the COVID19 vaccine to more than 9,000 people in Marib governorate, through three rounds of integrated outreach activity. We are working daily, using different tools and activities to increase the awareness of communities of the importance and safety of taking the vaccine."
"WHO HAS PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN SERVING THE HEALTH SECTOR HERE. IT WAS COLLAPSING – AND NOW IT IS DOING MUCH BETTER," SAID DR. ABDULLAH AL-SHADDADI, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE HEALTH OFFICE IN MARIB GOVERNORATE. “WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THE TRAINING THAT WHO IS PROVIDING TO OUR HEALTH EMERGENCY STAFF IN MARIB.”
A poster at the Saudi Institute IDP camp promotes COVID-19 vaccines to “protect yourself and your family.”
Dr Al-Shaddadi explained that WHO is facilitating integrated immunization and public awareness campaigns for other vaccine-preventable diseases besides COVID-19 – including polio, measles, rubella, and diptheria. He added that WHO together with KSrelief and other donors is also providing and supporting fuel, medicines, ambulances, surgical teams, medical supplies, oxygen plants and therapeutic feeding centers across Marib Governorate.
"Through our vital partnership with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, WHO Yemen is successfully supporting public health in Yemen with COVID-19 vaccines and training,” said Dr. Adham Rashad, WHO Representative to Yemen. “The continuation of this partnership is key to achieving further improvements of the health system – which depend first and foremost on the tireless efforts of healthcare workers and volunteers in the field."
Story: Moayed Al-Shaibani & Kevin Cook / WHO-Yemen
Photos: Kevin Cook & Yassar Al-Shawsh