Zanzibar – Zanzibar is taking steps to strengthen health promotion and build healthier communities by equipping its newly recruited Health Promotion Unit (HPU) staff with modern skills in Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Social Listening, Infodemic Management, and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). 

Morogoro – Health experts, epidemiologists, laboratory professionals and surveillance focal persons from across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar came together to review the performance of the country’s Respiratory Pathogens Sentinel Surveillance system and identify priorities to further strengthen its capacity to detect and respond to respiratory disease threats. 

Mara Region – As part of ongoing national efforts to strengthen readiness for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and other viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), implemented a five-day capacity-building initiative for frontline healthcare workers and health facilities in Mara Region.

 In Kebbi State, Surajuddeen Lukman has seen how delayed or incomplete information can slow a public health response.

“In Kebbi State, I have seen how delayed or incomplete data can affect response efforts. This training is helping me better analyse information so health teams can reach communities faster and protect more children,” she said. 

Addis Ababa—Ministers of Health from 10 African countries have signed a Cross-Border Collaboration Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen coordination, information-sharing and joint preparedness and response to public health emergencies across borders. The agreement provides a framework for countries to work together before, during and after emergencies, strengthen early detection and response, clarify roles and responsibilities, and support coordinated action along high-risk border areas.

Kamhlushwa, Mpumalanga | 31 August 2026

Abuja – Every month at the Primary Health Care Centre in Ugbor, Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State, in southern Nigeria, mothers gather with their babies for routine immunization and growth monitoring services. Among them is Mrs Shegu Ritawaits who arrived one morning with her eight-month-old child expecting a routine clinic visit.

Dar es Salaam — From 27–30 August 2026, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania completed the third round of Phase II of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) campaign, reaching 6,991,461 children under 10 years of age across eight regions, exceeding the national target of 6,555,511 children.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has handed over emergency health supplies to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to support ongoing public health preparedness and response following the floods that affected parts of Ghana on 29 June 2026.

Bissau—The initiative expands the resources available for eye examinations, diagnosis and treatment at Simão Mendes National Hospital.

The World Health Organization (WHO) handed over materials and equipment to the National Ophthalmology Service, based at Simão Mendes National Hospital in Bissau.

The equipment, valued at a total of US$151,863, was procured under the National Health System Strengthening Project, funded by the African Development Bank in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health.