Ghana launches National Breastfeeding Week

Breastfeeding mother

The World Health Organization has joined the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and partners to launch the 2021 National Breastfeeding Week celebration under the theme, Protect Breastfeeding: A shared responsibility. 

This year’s event will focus on raising awareness and galvanizing action on protecting breastfeeding to improve public health. The week-long celebration will be marked with a call on stakeholders to make investments and commitments to support actions aimed at reducing   malnutrition amongst newborns, infants, and young children in Ghana.

Guinea declares end of Marburg virus disease outbreak

Guinea declares end of Marburg virus disease outbreak
Guinea today declared the end of the Marburg virus disease outbreak having recorded no new cases over the past 42 days—two incubation periods, or the time between infection and the onset of symptoms. The virus was confirmed on 9 August, marking the first time the disease emerged in the country and in West Africa.

Eritrea- Green Light Committee Monitoring Mission 2021

During the debriefing session on TB Programmatic findings

The Green Light Committee (GLC) Initiative, together with the Working Group on MDR-TB, promotes implementation of the component two of the Stop TB Strategy that calls for the control and prevention of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) through: (i) increased access to quality-assured second-line anti-TB drugs; and (ii) prevention of development of resistance to anti-TB drugs in accordance with the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006–2015) and the Global MDR/XDR-TB Response plan (2007–2008). 

Revitalisation des districts sanitaires : renforcer les capacités des cadres du niveau central pour un accompagnement efficient du niveau opérationnel

Revitalisation des districts sanitaires : renforcer les capacités des cadres du niveau central pour un accompagnement efficient du niveau opérationnel
Le site touristique Elonda, situé dans la banlieue nord de Brazzaville, capitale de la République du Congo abrite depuis ce matin du lundi 13 septembre 2021, les travaux de l’atelier de formation des cadres du Ministère de la santé et de la population (MSP) et d’harmonisation des contenus pédagogiques en prélude à la formation des acteurs de 93 aires de santé de la Stratégie opérationnelle 2020-2021, conjointement adoptée et mise en œuvre par le Ministère de la Santé et de la Population et le Bureau de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) au Congo. 

South Sudan receives its first consignment of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility

Hon. Elizabeth Achuei - Minister for Health, Deputy Minister, Hon. Deng Dau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Victoria Anib Majur, Undersecretary, Ministry of Health and David Renz Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., (CDA), Embassy of the United States of America receiving the J&J vaccines

Juba, 14 September 2021 –South Sudan received its first consignment of 152,950 doses of the Johnson & Johnson ‘Janssen’ COVID-19 vaccines today. These single dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are the third batch of vaccine shipments to South Sudan through the COVAX Facility.  

The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines were shipped through the COVAX facility to South Sudan on 25 March 2021 and the second batch of 59,520 AstraZeneca vaccines donated by France arrived on 31 August 2021 and a donation from Sweden is slated for arrival soon.

Sierra Leone receives 113,490 Pfizer vaccines donated by the US Government via COVAX Facility

The Ambassador of the United States to Sierra Leone (right) and the Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation (Left) at the official handing over event of the vaccine
Freetown, Monday, 13th September 2021 – The United States Government, through the COVAX Facility, has boosted the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive in Sierra Leone, with a donation of 113,490 doses of the Pfizer vaccines. This generous contribution from the US Government comes within a week of Sierra Leone receiving consignments of 151,200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which were also supplied by the United States Government through the global COVID-19 equity scheme’s dose-sharing mechanism, COVAX.

Polio- We have won a battle, but the war is still on-Professor Tomori

Prof Tomori.jpg

Abuja, 11 September, 2021 - On the 25th day of August 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) Africa region was certified polio free by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication (ARCC), as Nigeria achieved the wild polio virus free status. 

Professor Oyewale Tomori, a leading virologist who helped spearhead Nigeria’s effort to kick out polio from the country is saying the outbreak of cVDPV2 is telling us that we have won a battle, but the war is still on. 

COVID-19 variants prolong Africa’s pandemic wave

COVID-19 variants prolong Africa’s pandemic wave
Weekly COVID-19 cases in Africa fell by more than 20%—the sharpest seven-day decline in two months – as the third wave pandemic tapers off. However, the rate of deceleration is slower than the previous waves owing to the impact of more transmissible variants.