Banjul, The Gambia - In a highly publicized and momentous event, His Excellency President Adama Barrow officially introduced The Gambia's groundbreaking "National Multi-Sectoral Strategy and Costed Action Plan" to combat the rising threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Tanzania is among the priority countries benefitting from the implementation of World Health Organization Emergency Preparedness and Response projects that aim to promote multisectoral convergence of resources and skills for rapid and efficient response to a disaster.

As the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 disease enters the third day in Manyara region, Tanzania, WHO is providing intensified technical and financial support to the region to ensure that no one is left behind in the critical campaign. WHO has moved a step further to avert inequity among intended populations for the exercise especially the nomadic populations.

In the African Region, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are set to overtake communicable diseases, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional conditions combined, to become the leading cause of death by 2030.  COVID-19, along with spiralling obesity, diabetes and hypertension rates, compounds the challenge, highlighting the urgency of a multi-sectoral response.

Today 950,350 doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Zambia. This consignment is the first shipment of a total of 4.5 million doses of Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccine donated by the Government of Canada through the COVAX facility.

These vaccines have been procured and delivered by UNICEF’s Supply Division, which leads the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccines across the world. The vaccine doses were handed over to the Ministry of Health by Jenny Hill, the Head of Office of Canada’s Office of the High Commission in Zambia.

The health risks in the region are increasing, while access to health care is deteriorating