Feature Stories

Zambia steps up cervical cancer screening with HPV testing

Lusaka – Zambia has the third highest burden of cervical cancer in the world, with an incidence rate of 65.5 per 100 000 women and a mortality rate of 43.4 per 100 000 women in 2020. Despite being a preventable and treatable disease, cervical cancer accounts for about 23% of all new cancer cases in the country. The peak age at diagnosis is between 40-49 years.

Ramping up response to curb Zimbabwe cholera outbreak

Harare – Forty-six-year-old Goodluck Moyo* from Chitungwiza, a town just outside the country’s capital, Harare, started feeling unwell after his day shift at work. “I suspect it was the water I drank while at work,” he says. “I got worse rapidly. I was rushed to the 24-hour clinic in my area, where I was put on a drip.” He was later referred to the cholera treatment centre at Chitungwiza General Hospital for further treatment.

Zambia races to curb fast-spreading cholera outbreak

Lusaka – As the cholera outbreak in Zambia continues to expand rapidly, efforts are being stepped up to halt the spread of disease and save lives. A vaccination campaign is currently underway targeting 1.5 million people, including children, health workers and people at high risk of infection in the worst affected areas.

Supporting flood emergency response in Congo 

Brazzaville ‒ Widespread flooding due to unusually heavy rainfall in the Republic of Congo has left more than 336 000 people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The floods have also damaged health facilities and schools and submerged swaths of farmland.

Cameroon making progress in the fight against HIV

Yaounde – Nicole, 28, from Bertoua in eastern Cameroon, will never forget that day in 2019 when her doctor at Batouri Catholic Hospital told her she was HIV-positive. She had gone for a medical check-up a few days previously after feeling ill, but HIV was the furthest thing from her mind. She froze, she recalls, wondering how it was possible. But as the shock began to wear off, the doctor informed her of her options, including treatment.

Tackling sexual abuse and exploitation in Mali

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.

Care for diabetics living in displaced persons camps in Burundi

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.