Lusaka, 3 June 2015 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti will pay a three day official visit to Zambia from 3 to 5 June 2015 at the invitation of the Zambian government. During her visit, she will pay a courtesy call on the President of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Brazzaville, 2 June 2015 - The strengthening of National Blood Transfusion Systems (NBTS) has become a top priority in countries hardest hit by the Ebola virus disease (EVD). Plans are being developed in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to strengthen blood transfusion systems  and ensure safe blood is available to everyone in need.

Brazzaville, 2 July 2015 - As members of an EU/WHO/ACP partnership* to improve access to quality medicines meet in Brazzaville, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, praised progress made and called for greater commitment to ensure that Africans have access to the quality, affordable medicines they need.

Kigoma, 1 June 2015 – The number of suspected cholera cases has been dropping dramatically over the past few days, underlining the tremendous progress being made to bring the ongoing cholera outbreak under control in the Kigoma region, Tanzania. Rehydrating cholera patients, as well as isolating them, have been key to the progress made to date.

Abuja, 01 June 2015-The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and National Primary Healthcare Agency (NPHCDA), conducted a two week monitoring and programme support mission to Abia and Niger States on the Rapid Access Expansion (RAcE)   2015 project from the 12—22 May as part of routine activities to ensure quality of implementation.

In 2013, an estimated 6.3 million children under five died, 2.9 million of them in the WHO African Region. This is equivalent to five children under 5 years of age dying every minute. Two thirds of these deaths can be attributed to preventable causes. A third of all these deaths are in the neonatal period.

Tobacco products are one of the biggest public health threats and nearly 80% of consumers live in low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco use is estimated to be responsible for 10% of adult deaths worldwide and 3% in the African Region.

From 23rd to 24th May, the Government of Rwanda, Ministry of Disasters Management and Refugees and Ministry of Health, UN Agencies in Rwanda, namely UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO and other Partners have organized an integrated immunization campaign for children under 15 years in the Burundi Refugees Camp of Mahama, District Kirehe, Eastern Province.

The WHO Package for Essential NCD (PEN) interventions provides policy and technical guidance on a core set of essential interventions for prevention and control of NCDs through a  Primary Health Care approach. The interventions that have been selected are evidence based and affordable even for low resource settings. Eritrea was one of the countries selected to test the package as a pilot project.

Kigoma, 28 May 2015 – As of 16 May 2015, a cholera outbreak was confirmed in the Kigoma region, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, along the Tanzania border with Burundi. Cholera is endemic in the region, but due to a recent influx of thousands of Burundian refugees, overcrowding and poor sanitation, the situation got worse. As of 28 May 2015, a total of 4487 suspected cholera cases have been reported so far.