Since late September 2024, the Afar region of Ethiopia—particularly Awash Fentale and Dulecha woredas in Zone 3—has experienced a significant increase in seismic activity. The situation reached a peak in December and intensified again in early 2025, with up to 14 earthquakes recorded in a single day, including a magnitude 5.8 tremor. The tremors, ranging from 4.4 to 6.0 on the Richter scale, have continued to shake communities across Afar and parts of Oromia, severely impacting lives, livelihoods, and essential services.

The Gambella region has successfully concluded a comprehensive Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) campaign, marking a critical milestone in the ongoing fight against the cholera outbreak that has impacted multiple districts.

Launched at the end of March, the campaign aimed to reach more than 990 communities, with strong coordination between federal and regional health authorities.

Freetown, Sierra Leone - Community engagement is visibly reshaping Sierra Leone’s response to mpox. Since the first confirmed case in January 2025, health workers and mobilisers have been moving steadily through affected areas, bridging information gaps, building trust, and helping people understand how to protect themselves and their families.

Kajiado County—At the busy Kitengela Hospital of Kajiado County in Southern Kenya, nurses Jackline Tabo and Grace Nyangweso bring healing in the quiet rooms where life’s most fragile moments happen. They are proud participants in WHO Kenya’s on-site mentorship, an initiative that’s designed to enhance the quality of sexual and reproductive health services at the point of care.

With support from a major donor, World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of Health concluded a joint assessment mission focused on enhancing maternal and newborn health (MNH) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services across five rural counties in Liberia.  The joint mission took place from 11 May to 24 May 2025 in Gbarpolu, River Cess, Maryland, Grand Kru, and River Gee counties. Its overarching goal was to evaluate the readiness and robustness of health facilities and maternity waiting homes in providing MNH and SRHR services.

Pretoria – Each year, more than 8 million people worldwide lose their lives to tobacco-related diseases including over 1 million due to second-hand smoke. These are not just numbers; they are parents, siblings, children, and friends.

In the heart of Kampala, an 18-year-old university girl is invited by a friend to a house party. While Shisha and e-cigarettes are banned by law, their availability at such young people’s functions is common.  

Dar es Salaam:  The National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) in Dar es Salaam has been officially designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) HIVResNet National Laboratory for HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) testing for 2025. This designation places Tanzania at the forefront of global efforts to monitor and respond to HIV drug resistance, a critical component in the fight to end the AIDS epidemic.

Kampala-Under the aegis of the Global Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) strategy and with support from Gavi, UNICEF, WHO, and Uganda’s Ministry of Health, the country has successfully completed phase 3a of its nationwide accelerated yellow fever vaccination campaign in response to the epidemiological situation, achieving an impressive 92% vaccination coverage in the 19 targeted districts. This phase, undertaken on 10-16 April 2025, was particularly significant as it was also used to respond to an active outbreak.