Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti. It remains endemic in the urban and semi-urban setting in the coastal areas of Yemen on the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Data collected in 2019 and 2020 showed that dengue was reported in 204 districts, including rural areas.
Early in 2020, once-in-a-generation flooding devastated Yemen’s southern communities, including Aden governorate that was among the most affected. In addition to loss of life displacement and damage, it has resulted in further spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes such as dengue fever, malaria and chikungunya.
In September, health authorities launched a dengue control campaign covering eight districts in Aden city with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief).
The campaign included indoor and outdoor fogging, vector surveillance, environmental management of all mosquitoes breeding sources. The campaign ensured direct protection to 430 000 people and indirectly to the 1.7 million total population of the city.
Increasing the community awareness of dengue control and prevention is essential to reduce the risk of transmission. Leaflets were distributed to the population, including children, to raise their awareness of dengue.
In addition to Aden, the dengue fever control campaign also covered Ateq district, Shabwa governorate. Two training workshops on integrated community case management were also organized, respectively in Al-Khokha district (Al Hudaydah governorate) and Al-Azariq district (Al-Dhalea governorate).
“This campaign is part of the support provided by the KSrelief to combat vector-borne diseases. The support also includes training and capacity-building for the malaria control programme to ensure the continuity of malaria and dengue fever control and prevention,” said Dr Abdulla Ameen, disease and vector control specialist at WHO.
The campaign is part of a WHO-KSrelief project to enhance national response for malaria and dengue vector control and prevention in Yemen, through strengthening surveillance, diagnosis and treatment. The project, signed in March 2020, aims to serve more than 7 million people.
