Feature Stories

Bujumbura – "I'm diabetic and life here is very hard, very complicated," complains Jean Ndimurirwo, 68, who has lived in the Maramvya camp for displaced people, near Bujumbura in Burundi, since being driven from her home by floodwaters three years ago. 

Bamako – “He punched me, kicked me, hit me with objects and insulted me. I was only 12, married off by my parents to a 55-year-old man who already had two wives. By the time I escaped four years later, I had already suffered two miscarriages,” says the young woman, who today credits World Health Organization (WHO) training for helping her become a “voice for the voiceless” in her community.

Juba ‒ Aboja Malual Chol lives in a transit centre for South Sudanese returnees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. Living conditions in the centre near Palouch airport in Melut County in northern South Sudan are tough for its 6000 residents who are awaiting to travel to other parts of the country. 

Accra ‒ The death of his mother six years ago was a rude awakening for Saviour Yevutsey. “What started as a simple cough led to a diagnosis of pneumonia,” he recalls. “After several medicines were administered without any improvement, my mother was referred to another district hospital and later to the teaching hospital for further treatment.” 

Yevutsey spent a fortune on medicines that did not deliver the needed relief to his mother and she died, a memory that still brings him pain. 

Brazzaville – In June 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emmanuella Selasi Hormenoo, an 18-year-old Ghanian university student, was teetering on the brink of death. “The doctors initially thought that I might have COVID-19, but when they did the tests, they were always negative. During one of the blood transfusions I had to have, I went into cardiac arrest, and slipped into yet another coma.” 

Abuja ‒ When his seven-year-old brother Jubrin was diagnosed with diphtheria in July 2023, Aminu Dayyabu Alharini had never heard of the disease, the latest outbreak of which has claimed more than 500 lives in Nigeria.

Following the diagnosis, Jubrin was immediately transferred from the health facility near their home in Alharini settlement, in Kano State, Nigeria, to a specialist hospital after he suddenly developed a high fever following two days of complaining of a sore throat.

Brazzaville – The emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases is a pressing concern for public health and environmental conservation in an increasingly interconnected world.

Recognizing the critical role of ecosystems in human survival, leaders and representatives from the world’s three largest tropical biodiversity ecosystems – the Amazon, the Congo and the Mekong-Delta River basins – are meeting this week in Brazzaville to discuss the complex relationship between forest ecosystems and human well-being.

Lilongwe ‒The Ministry of Health in Malawi with support from World Health Organization and Africa CDC, is currently training the first cohort of 63 emergency responders out of the country’s target of 200 to handle public health emergencies in Malawi and beyond.

Malaria poses a significant health burden in Sierra Leone, with high transmission rates year-round. Children under five and pregnant women are mostly affected, leading to severe illness and death. The disease strains healthcare resources, hinders economic productivity, and challenges access to care, particularly in remote areas. Sierra Leone implements preventive measures and collaborates with global health partners to combat malaria, but challenges persist, highlighting the need for sustained efforts to address this threat to public health.