RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aid agency has launched a nationwide campaign to distribute one million insecticide-treated mosquito nets across Yemen while facilitating the voluntary return of 155 Somali refugees to their homeland, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) said the mosquito net campaign, launched in Aden in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Yemen’s National Malaria Control Program, aims to protect two million vulnerable people from malaria.
The campaign will prioritize pregnant women, children and internally displaced people living in camps across all Yemeni governorates.
Bales of insecticide-treated mosquito nets are stored at a KSrelief station in Aden, Yemen, ready for distribution to the most vulnerable recipients. (SPA photo)
Yemen’s Minister of Public Health and Population, Dr. Qasem Buhaibeh, welcomed the initiative, saying the preventive assistance would help curb the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases among vulnerable communities.
He thanked Saudi Arabia, through KSrelief, for its continued support for Yemen’s health sector, saying the campaign would help protect lives and strengthen disease prevention efforts. Distribution of the mosquito nets is expected to cover 626 camps for internally displaced people in the coming days.
155 Somali refugees return to homeland
In a separate humanitarian operation, KSrelief repatriated 155 Somali refugees from Yemen through Aden International Airport under a protection project implemented in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The refugees expressed appreciation to Saudi Arabia and KSrelief for facilitating their safe return home.
Somali refugees wait for their flight home to Somalia at the Aden International Airport. (SPA photo)
SPA said the repatriation forms part of KSrelief’s broader humanitarian program in Yemen, where the Kingdom continues to provide relief assistance to communities affected by years of conflict and displacement.
Saudi Arabia has remained one of the largest humanitarian donors to Yemen through KSrelief, supporting projects spanning healthcare, food security, shelter, water and sanitation, education, and refugee protection in cooperation with United Nations agencies and international humanitarian organizations.
