Cholera Emergency Response in Hajjah Governorate, Yemen The conflict in Yemen has developed into a long-lasting humanitarian disaster and the situation is rapidly deteriorating in large parts of the country. Hospitals and health facilities do not have the possibility to care for patients adequately. Hygienic treatment and operating of the facilities cannot be ensured yet. Additionally, most of the families in the Hajjah Governorate cannot ensure basic hygiene and have no access or affordable means to equip themselves with the needed materials. The spread of Cholera in Hajjah Governorate is high. 

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen has launched a reserve allocation on the 15th of May 2017 in order to scale up the cholera response immediately. Eligible partners, like Vision Hope International (VHI), have been asked to scale up the current cholera response and submit a project proposal.  In short, the activities planned will build upon VHI’s current Cholera response in 7 districts within Hajjah governorate targeting affected areas as being reported by the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), WHO and the Health Cluster. VHI will coordinate with Relief International who is currently working in Hajjah to avoid replication of interventions.  The Yemeni Family Care Association (YFCA) will also implement a cholera project in Hajjah and coordination will be organized. Obviously, VHI will not target areas where DTCs are already set up by RI, WHO, SCI, MSF or IOM (as per latests Cluster GAP analysis).

Based on the latests changes and instructions from the YHPF and Clusters, VHI will try to establish up to 3 DTCs with ORS Corners in the priority affected Hajja districts when they are not covered by the two above NGOs in the prioritised affected areas. VHI will inform the Health Cluster Coordinator the names and locations of the Health Facilities that would get full support from the project. 

In order to meet the identified needs, VHI strives for two outcomes: firstly, Improved capacity of treatment and case management of cholera in HF of the priority areas and secondly, Improved hygiene management as well as personal hygiene and raised awareness with regards to cholera in the priority districts in Hajja Governorate. We focus on sufficient level of readiness of the response team, health workers and health facilities in order to address Cholera, managed cases and control infection at functioning Health Facilities in the priority areas of Hajjah. We also train additional HYGIENE and WASH workers present in the targeted communities in Hajjah for integrated prevention activities. We also included rehabilitation of wash facilities of the DTC and ORS.

VHI is currently implementing a WASH and Health Cholera response intervention in Hajja with a grant received from YHPF. This new funding complements our current project and allows us to more effectively respond to cholera in designated DTC and ORS.  

It has to be noted that the current project can only be succesfully and effectively completed with this second project, and vice versa. 

It is also important to stress that the coordination of this intervention takes place with the Health Office. Access and approval is a precondition. We can only work in the agreed upon DTCs and ORS and will not be able to support others.

We are happy to provide any remaning surplus of materials to other DTCs and ORS provided that they we consider fully functioning.