Feature Stories

Abuja – As Nigeria intensifies efforts to halt the transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus, a high-level delegation from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative(GPEI), visited Abuja, Nigeria, 27-28 February 2025. During the visit, government, traditional leaders, and partners renewed their commitment to overcome remaining challenges to end polio in Nigeria.

Luanda – One morning in late January 2025, Julia Armando found her 68-year-old mother collapsed on the floor, suffering from severe diarrhoea and vomiting. “It’s a situation I’ve never seen before… it was a shock to see my mother lying on the floor without strength,” she says. Armando rushed her mother to the nearest cholera treatment centre, where she was treated and thankfully made a full recovery.

Brazzaville – Onchocerciasis – commonly known as river blindness – is a major public health problem in Congo. Once confined to rural communities living close to rivers and farmlands, the disease is now present in urban settings, particularly in communities located close to watercourses.

Freetown ‒ Sierra Leone is deploying a range of measures to control and end an outbreak of mpox in which 20 cases have so far been reported since the disease was confirmed on 13 January 2025.

Bangui – In the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio, the Central African Republic has placed a special emphasis on reaching vulnerable and underserved populations. Populations in mining regions like Zoubala, a locality in the Bossombélé district about two hours from Bangui, the capital, face unique challenges and heightened risks of poliovirus transmission.

Nouakchott – Mauritania has witnessed a significant decline in leprosy cases in recent years thanks to sustained efforts that have led to improvements in prevention, detection and treatment. Only 17 new cases were recorded in 2023 compared with 42 reported in 2010.

Luanda – Antonio Morais, from Paraíso neighborhood in Cacuaco, one of Luanda’s nine municipalities, has witnessed friends and neighbours succumb to cholera. So, when Morais heard about an oral cholera vaccination campaign as part of Angola’s efforts to step up outbreak control, he was first in line to receive a vaccine. “I feel relieved, as I know that vaccines save lives,” he says.

Abidjan – Edwige, a mother of two, is a devoted listener of a local radio station in her community in the southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. She especially tunes in for morning programmes before heading off to work at her cosmetics shop. That is how she first heard about mpox. 

“At first, I thought it was chickenpox ...,” she says.