Yemen has launched a One Health Capacity-Building Program to strengthen national capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats that emerge at the interface between humans, animals, and the environment through a coordinated One Health approach.

Supported by the Pandemic Fund, the program brings together the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Water and Environment, alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, EMPHNET, and other relevant stakeholders.

The program focuses on strengthening Yemen’s multidisciplinary workforce through three key components: the One Health Leadership and Management Program, the One Health Field Epidemiology Training Program (OHFETP), and One Health Rapid Response Teams.

Launching the One Health Capacity-Building Program

The program was officially launched during an inception workshop held in Aden on July 22. The workshop brought together ministers, senior government officials, technical experts, academia, development partners, and representatives from national and international organizations to align on the program’s objectives, implementation approach, coordination mechanisms, and next steps.

During the workshop, EMPHNET presented its technical role in implementing the program. Participants also discussed coordination arrangements, participant nomination processes, and opportunities to strengthen collaboration among ministries, UN agencies, academia, and development partners in advancing One Health priorities.

Through Pandemic Fund support, the human, animal, and environmental health sectors agreed on eight national priority zoonotic diseases for multisectoral collaboration, and a joint One Health Action Plan for 2026–2028 was developed.

The program will support the development of a trained workforce across the three sectors to contribute to joint risk assessment, investigation, and response to priority zoonotic diseases and other One Health threats of concern to Yemen.

Preparing Mentors for the Program

Following the inception workshop, the program moved into its next phase with a three-day Mentors’ Training Workshop in Aden.

The workshop brought together 10 mentors from the MOPHP, Veterinary Services, and Environmental Health to prepare them to support participants throughout the program. The training covered One Health surveillance, field epidemiology, outbreak investigation, mentoring skills, and field-based learning, providing mentors with the foundation needed to guide participants as they progress through the program and their field assignments.

Launching the First One Health FETP Workshop

Following the mentors’ training, 24 participants began the first seven-day OHFETP workshop in Aden.

Representing the human, animal, and environmental health sectors, participants were organized into multidisciplinary teams to strengthen collaboration and learning through a One Health approach.

The workshop focuses on One Health surveillance, disease detection, data collection and analysis, reporting, and field epidemiology principles. Following the workshop, participants will continue with supervised field assignments supported by their mentors, allowing them to apply their learning in the field.

Strengthening One Health Capacity in Yemen

The One Health Capacity-Building Program forms part of broader efforts to strengthen Yemen’s pandemic preparedness and response capacities through a multisectoral One Health approach. Through its three components, the program will contribute to strengthening integrated surveillance, laboratory capacity, joint outbreak investigation, emergency preparedness, and coordinated response across sectors.

The program also reflects EMPHNET’s continued efforts to strengthen FETPs across the Eastern Mediterranean Region and expand specialized FETP tracks that respond to emerging public health priorities. Through approaches such as the One Health FETP, EMPHNET works with countries and partners to equip the public health workforce with the competencies needed to address increasingly complex health challenges through practical, field-based training.

Together with the Government of Yemen, WHO, FAO, UNICEF, and other partners, EMPHNET will continue supporting efforts to strengthen One Health capacities and reinforce preparedness and response to public health threats in Yemen.