Monrovia, 7 March 2016 - Access to safe, effective, good quality and affordable medicines is a vital component of a health care delivery system. As part of the Post- Ebola recovery program, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Liberia, has initiated a number of steps in strengthening the supply management chain system to ensure the availability of medical and diagnostic supplies on a regular basis at the various health facilities.

WHO experts remain at the frontline 

Luanda, 9 March 2016 - Angolan health authorities and national and international partners continue making tireless efforts to immunize 6.7 million people in Luanda Province and to stop the yellow fever outbreak the country has been facing  since December 2015.

WHO is supporting the procurement of 7.4 million doses of vaccine that will allow the vaccination of the entire population of Luanda above the age of 6 months.

Monrovia, 8 March - The three West African countries most affected by the recent Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak have made significant achievements on infection prevention and control (IPC) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) implementation. Infection prevention is one of the major factors in EVD prevention and control and is a key indicator monitored under the International Health Regulations (IHR-2005).

Liberia’s health system is progressively recovering from the unprecedented Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak that tested its fragility. The recovery process is guided by the Investment Plan for building a Resilient Health System that prioritizes among others emergency preparedness and response as well as the fit-for-purpose, productive and motivated health workforce and health infrastructure. 

Abidjan, 3 March 2016 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti concluded a three day official visit to Cote d’Ivoire yesterday. The visit began on Monday 29 February and was aimed at further strengthening collaboration between WHO and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire. 

Abuja, 01 March 2015 - With Nigeria taking the world one step closer to reaching eradication after interrupting the poliovirus for over 19 months, State Governors across the six geo-political zones personally launched, supervised and monitored the quality of the first National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) since the World Health Organization (WHO) formally removed Nigeria from list of polio endemic countries on 26 September, 2015.

 Juba, February/March 2016 - South Sudan has laid the foundations to scale up the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020. Following the launch of the Master Plan in December 2015, the Ministry of Health and WHO completed the nationwide training of NTD mapping and has embarked on a national mapping exercise for Schistosomiasis (SCH), Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) and Lymphatic Filariasis (LF). The exercise commences with mapping of 31 Counties in the first phase.

Luanda, 1st March 2016 - The World Health organization (WHO) is intensifying its technical support to   Angola to ensure an integrated multi-sectoral response to the Yellow Fever Outbreak this Southern African country is experiencing since December 2015. As of 29th February 2016, a total of 634 suspected cases, 110 deaths and 25 confirmed cases have been reported.

Simiyu Region, January 2016 - Simiyu is among the 22 regions in Tanzania which have been hard hit by the cholera outbreak in the country. The region started reporting cholera on 24th December 2015. By 20th January, 2016 a total of 153 cases had been reported out of which 115 occurred in the previous 14 days.

A total of 10 deaths had also been reported. Most of these cases are reported from Bariadi and Busega districts with cases coming mainly from villages along the banks of the river Duma which separates the two districts.

In the quest to prevent cervical cancer, Ethiopia launched a pilot Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination pilot project in December 2015 targeting adolescent girls in the 9-13 year age group in Oromia and Tigray regions.