On Monday, January 24, 2022, Vanessa Tchouanzi, a high school teacher, attended the Cameroon-Comoros football match for the Africa Cup of Nations with her friend Véronique at the Olembe stadium in Yaounde. She still vividly recalls the tragic stampede that occurred. Caught in the crowd surge, Vanessa and Veronique lost consciousness but Vanessa was pulled away by a stranger whereas Veronique stayed in the crowd and was later taken to a nearer hospital where she died shortly afterward.

Uganda is set to advance its pharmaceutical regulatory capacity and boost local medical products production in strategic partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO). This initiative follows a high-level mission from WHO’s Regulation and Prequalification Department, at the invitation of the Ministry of Health (MoH). 

Dar es Salaam - The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has concluded a high-level visit to Tanzania, where he met with President Samia Suluhu Hassan, members of the UN Country Team, and international development partners to discuss the country’s health priorities and ongoing response to the recent Marburg virus disease outbreak in the Kagera region.

Dodoma – Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease. 

No distrito de Lago, província do Niassa, mais de 40 líderes – incluindo religiosos, matronas, comités de saúde, agentes polivalentes de saúde, representantes da Organização da Mulher Moçambicana e da Organização da Juventude Moçambicana – participaram de um diálogo com o Ministério da Saúde (MISAU) e a OMS.

Luanda, Angola – Dr Zabulon Yoti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Angola, accompanied by a team of WHO staff, joined the Minister of Health today for a field visit to the cholera outbreak hotspot in Cacuaco Municipality. They evaluated the Cholera Treatment Centres (CTCs) set up to manage the crisis and assessed the response at the community level. The government has shown commendable leadership in providing clean water to affected communities, a crucial step in curbing the spread of cholera.

The Ethiopian Public Health Institute with support from World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a national training of trainers on the electronic surveillance (eSURV) Companion App from November 18-22, 2024 in Adama, Oromia region, enhancing the capacity of 40 Health Workers (HWs) for the deployment of the Companion App. As part of strengthening the surveillance system, eSurveillance helps to facilitate public health surveillance functions of prevention, prediction, detection and response for any acute public health event. 

Kampala. The World Health Organization (WHO) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH) to deploy the national Emergency Medical Team (nEMT) in the mpox outbreak response.

Uganda declared an outbreak of mpox on 24 July 2024, following confirmation of two cases in Kasese District. The outbreak has progressed since the declaration to affect over 70 districts with more than 2,000 cases reported across the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Uganda, and Makerere University, celebrated two significant milestones at the Uganda Public Health Institute: the 9^th graduation of Public Health Field Epidemiologists and the inaugural graduation of Laboratory Leadership Fellows.

The Ministry of Health of Ethiopia in its effort to prevent cervical cancer and ensure a healthier population conducted the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign nationwide with support from Gavi the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) reaching over 6.8 million Multi-Age Cohort (MAC) 9-14 years girls. The nationwide HPV (MAC) single-dose vaccination was launched on 18 November 2024 by H.E. Dr Mekdes Daba, Health Minister to Ethiopia, and graced by representatives from Gavi, WHO, UNICEF, and other immunization partners.