Infographics

N’Djamena—In the nomadic settlement of Mandjafa, on the outskirts of N’Djamena, Afia travelled with her four-month-old daughter, Fatma, to benefit from services provided during an integrated outreach activity for nomadic communities. For this mother of five, these interventions play an essential role in protecting her family’s health.

“Vaccines help keep my children healthy. As soon as they become ill, I take them to the health centre,” she said.

Benin City, Mrs Ann Obehi Ojugo moved slowly to the front of the room. She paused before speaking.

“I was just a child when I fell sick,” she said. “My parents did not know about immunization. By the time help came, it was too late. I have lived with this ever since. Please, do not let another child go through this.”

Her message was simple: vaccines can prevent conditions like this.

Her story reflects a gap that still exists in parts of Edo State. Some children have never received a single vaccine. They are known as zero-dose children.

Adré, Chad—When Zara arrived in Adré in June 2023 after fleeing the conflict in Sudan, she was 19 years old. Shortly afterwards, she was assaulted by several men while visiting her grandmother in another section of the site where she was living with her family. A few weeks later, she learned that she was pregnant.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia, supported a landmark Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE), bringing together multidisciplinary health workers to transform how care is delivered to older persons across primary health care services.

Funded by the Government of Japan through the TICAD9 Japanese Supplementary Budget (JFY2025), the initiative is part of the broader project “Restoring and Digitizing Health Services in Ethiopia.”

Science in service of health: WHO and CSIR explore collaboration for Africa

Pretoria, South Africa. A visit by WHO Regional Director for Africa Professor Mohamed Janabi to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research highlighted how African science, technology and partnership can help strengthen health security and build more resilient health systems.

Ethiopia conducted a synchronized polio vaccination campaign with South Sudan using the bivalent Oral Polio vaccine (bOPV) and reached over one million children under five years in high-risk border areas and refugee camps, as part of urgent efforts to prevent cross-border transmission of the variant polio virus from neighboring South Sudan. The vaccination campaign, implemented from 7 to 10 May 2026, covered Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz regions as well as West Wollega and Kelem Wollega zones of Oromia Region.

Botswana has taken a significant step towards strengthening evidence-informed health policymaking through the launch of the Botswana Data-to-Policy (D2P) Capacity Strengthening Initiative, a collaborative effort led by the Ministry of Health's Health Research and Development Division with support from Vital Strategies, Bloomberg Philanthropies' Data for Health Initiative, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The World Health Organization (WHO) Ghana Country Office has strengthened its emergency preparedness and organizational resilience by conducting a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Tabletop Simulation Exercise (TTX), aimed at ensuring the continuity of critical operations during emergencies.

Kampala:- In a country striving to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up efforts to amplify civil society engagement and community voices as central pillars of Uganda’s health system strengthening.

Kampala:- From 6–8 May 2026, ministers, health leaders, development partners and delegates from across the continent gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the Second Health Workforce Investment Forum. The meeting highlighted both the progress and persistent challenges facing Africa’s health workforce.