Inside this issue

1. Highlights
2. World TB Awareness Week, March 2012
3. World Health Day, April 2012
4. World No Tobacco Day, May 2012
5. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Launches Decentralization of Primary Health Care, May 2012
6. STEPS Survey, June 2012
7. UN staff support blood drive on World Blood Donor Day, June 2012

WHO Country Office Lesotho Bi-Annual Newsletter

Banjul, 1 June 2012 -- “Smoking kills” “By smoking, you are committing suicide” “Say No to tobacco”. These were some of the slogans teachers and students of Brufut Lower Basic School (BLBS) and the local community sang as they took to the streets of Brufut village to commemorate World No-Tobacco Day.

Brazzaville, 31 May 2012 –- Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) should continue to sensitize people in the region to the dangers of tobacco use while intensifying their efforts to protect tobacco control policies from interference by the tobacco industry and its allies.

Pretoria, 31 May 2012 -- The Acting World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative in South Africa, Dr Francis Kasolo, called on participants at the closing ceremony of the WHO Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Regional Consultation, held in Pretoria, South Africa, to intensify action against cancer in their respective countries, in line with the 58th session of the World Health Assembly resolution on cancer prevention and control, that calls upon Member States to implement Cancer Control through: prevention (HPV vaccination and screening), early detection, diagnosis & trea

Sierra Leone commemorated World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2012 under the theme “Tobacco Industry Interference” on 31 May. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) in collaboration with WHO and with support from other partners coordinated the commemoration.
The purpose was to raise awareness on the global tobacco epidemic and to mobilize the public to support smoke free environment.

Tanzania commemorated this year’s World No Tobacco Day at the Julius Nyerere International Airport, in Dar es Salaam on 31st May 2012. The Guest of Honor for the occasion was Hon. Minister of Health and Social Welfare, who was represented by the Acting Assistant Director of NCD Unit at MOHSW, Dr. Ayoub Maghimbi.

Uganda commemorated World No Tobacco Day with grand activities between 28 and 31 May, 2012, to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco and also advocate for the adoption of the Tobacco Control Policy and establishing tobacco control legislation.

The mass vaccination campaign against Meningoccocal Meningitis « A » will take place in Ghana from 2-12 October, 2012.

This campaign concerns Ghana’s three northern regions and will target more than 4 million people between the ages of 1 and 29.

In preparation for this important public health event, the national authorities in partnership with their financial and technical partners, decided to launch the preparation phase of this campaign.

Pretoria, 28 May 2012 -- More than 200 million women aged 15 years or older are at risk of developing cervical cancer in the African Region. Annually 71,000 cases are diagnosed, resulting in 62,000 deaths.

Rwanda launched officially the rotavirus vaccine (Rotateq) in its routine immunization program on 25th May 2012. The launching ceremony took place in Musanze District, Northern Province, alongside the Mother and Child Health Week with has been organised from 24 to 25 may 2012. The Guest of Honour of this ceremony was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health.

The United Nations Agencies was represented by WHO Representative in Rwanda, Dr Delanyo DOVLO, who delivered the speech on behalf of all UN agencies and for GAVI.