Abuja – For Dr Aminatu Makarfi Umar, a gynaecologist in Kaduna State, HIV prevention should be part of routine care for women who may benefit from it.

“Every pregnant woman at increased risk of HIV deserves to know her prevention options,” she said. “I will make sure this becomes part of routine care in my clinic.”

Her commitment reflects a wider effort by Nigeria to strengthen the capacity of health workers to provide quality, respectful and people-centred HIV prevention services.

A new World Health Organization (WHO) regional survey assessing progress on patient safety across the African Region finds uneven results, as countries work to meet the needs of a growing number of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and provide them with safe, continuous care.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The WHO Representative to Ethiopia, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Professor Francis Chisaka Kasolo, held a bilateral meeting with the Director General of the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA), Ms. Heran Gerba, to discuss strengthening Ethiopia’s regulatory systems for medicines and medical devices.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 15 September 2026 – Ethiopia has achieved a major milestone in strengthening national health emergency preparedness and response following the successful World Health Organization (WHO) verification of its National Emergency Medical Team (EMT), positioning the country as the first civilian Emergency Medical Team in the WHO African Region to achieve international WHO classification, alongside Senegal’s classified military EMT.

Moyale - Located along the Ethiopia–Kenya border, Moyale Hospital provides essential health services to a catchment population of more than three million people. Its strategic location and role as a Point of Entry health facility make it important not only for routine healthcare delivery, but also for the prevention, detection and management of public-health threats that could spread across borders.

Kampala, Uganda – Every day across Uganda, health workers face life-or-death emergencies: a child struggling to breathe from severe pneumonia, a mother experiencing postpartum haemorrhage, a victim of a road traffic crash, or a patient arriving with severe asthma or diabetic complications. In many of these situations, survival depends on what happens in the first few minutes of care.

Around 30 participants and experts from Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and Europe gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a four-day workshop designed to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration for outbreak response. Provided by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), with technical and operational support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the workshop was organized within the framework of the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) initiative.

Haruna Darboe stood beside the weighing scale, watching closely as a health worker recorded his three-month-old daughter's weight before administering her routine vaccinations at Serekunda Health Centre. As a first-time father, the moment carried more meaning than a routine clinic visit. It was reassurance that he was doing everything he could to protect his child.

“As a first-time father, I want to do everything possible to protect my child,” he said. “Seeing my baby receive vaccines gives me confidence that she is growing up with the protection she needs.”

Mara Region – As part of ongoing national efforts to strengthen readiness for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and other viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), implemented a five-day capacity-building initiative for frontline healthcare workers and health facilities in Mara Region.

 In Kebbi State, Surajuddeen Lukman has seen how delayed or incomplete information can slow a public health response.

“In Kebbi State, I have seen how delayed or incomplete data can affect response efforts. This training is helping me better analyse information so health teams can reach communities faster and protect more children,” she said.