Trachoma, an infectious eye disease caused by bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. It is a public health problem in 44 countries, and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. About 142 million people live in trachoma endemic areas and are at risk of trachoma blindness. The infection is transmitted by direct or indirect transfer of eye and nose discharges of infected people, particularly young children who are the principal reservoir of infection. The disease is also spread by flies.

Abuja, 29 November, 2019 - To sustain the functionality of the National Health Workforce Registry, Nigerian health policy makers and planners on 27 November 2019 validated the National Health Workforce Registry. 

The Ministry of Health and Social Services launched the revised National Guidelines on Antiretroviral therapy and the HIV care and treatment package for children and adolescents as the country transition to highly effective medicine for treating persons living with HIV.  The revised guidelines include Dolutegravir (DTG) - a relatively new medicine used to treat HIV infection. DTG, when combined with 2 other medicines, is considered to be among the best current treatments for HIV.

The unprecedented 2014- 2015 Ebola epidemic affected approximately 10,675 Liberians and had a devastating impact on the fragile health system.

The attainment of Zambia’s goal of being a prosperous and middle-income country by 2030 as stipulated in its Vision 2030 is dependent on among others, a healthy and productive population. Health has therefore been prioritized as a key economic investment in the Seventh National Development Plan 2017-2021.

Lomé, 26 November 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today kicked off a four-day regional emergency preparedness workshop in Lomé, Togo for senior public health officials to strengthen the capabilities within West African countries to respond to polio outbreaks.

The new Minister of Health and Wellness of the Republic of Mauritius, Dr Hon Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal launched a series of activities in the south of the country on 23 November 2019 to mark the World Diabetes Day at national level.  The objective of the World Diabetes Day was to raise global awareness about the increasing burden of diabetes, and the lifestyle measures that can be taken to prevent it.  Eminent personalities participated in the event including Dr Hon M. I.

Country Context
Namibia is situated in the south-western part of Africa bordered by Angola in the north, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the northeast, Botswana to the east, South Africa in the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.  It is the thirty-fourth largest country in the world occupying an area of 824,292 km2 and the least densely populated country second to Mongolia.  Ninety two percent of the land area is defined as hyper-arid, arid or semi-arid. The county is also characterized by a high income inequality with a Gini coefficient of 0.572.

Kano, 21 November, 2019 - Every time one of Asabe Mohammed’s children fell ill with malaria, she had to scramble to find a way to pay for medication to treat the disease. 

“My children and I usually sleep outside with no form of protection and that has exposed all my children to malaria-carrying mosquitoes,” explains Asabe, who lives in Gwale Local Government Area (LGA) in Kano State. “I had to sacrifice their school fees to buy medicine.”