Dr Owen Laws Kaluwa, has bid farewell to the Government and the People of Ghana after four years of meritorious service as Country Representative for the World Health Organization in Ghana. He paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey to inform her of his end of service in Ghana.

Abuja, 13 November 2019 - Nigeria has flagged off series of activities, including engagement with journalists, to advocate for clean toilets for all, to commemorate 2019 World Toilet Day. The theme for this year is, “leaving no one behind”, in line with current global efforts towards achieving universal access to sanitation whereby, no one left is behind.

Kampala, 13 November, 2019:- There was one resounding message that came out of Uganda’s first National Conference on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention held from 6th to 8th November 2019 in Kampala: “Primary Health Care (PHC) is the only route to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the biggest driver for PHC is Health Promotion and Disease Prevention”.

Kampala, 13 November 2019: - The Ministry of Health (MoH), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) recently held a workshop to assess the progress of implementation and performance of the immunization program in Uganda. The review specifically focused on GAVI’s support to Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization (UNEPI) and its contribution to immunization outcomes in the country.

Maiduguri, 12 November, 2019 - In north-eastern Nigeria, the World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Government to expand and improve services offered to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Evaline William sits on a wooden bench at a vaccination point, carrying on her lap two-year-old, Precious Wolfgang.

The congestion has eased at the vaccination area at Sabasaba health facility in Morogoro regional town, 200 kilometers from Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania. Earlier in the morning, Evaline was not encouraged to take her daughter for vaccination. Afterall, Precious has received all vaccines as per the national schedule.

Zambia has launched a polio immunisation campaign after confirming a case involving a 2 years 8-month old male child in Chienge district in the northern part of the country. The affected child has paralysis of the lower limbs and had no history of receiving polio vaccinations. According to the Ministry of Health, this outbreak was caused by Vaccine Derived Polio Virus Type 2 (VDPV2).

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 69, and over 86 per cent of these "premature" deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.The economic impact, including loss of income by people harmed by NCDs, the costs of treatment, and the impacts on families threaten international development. Through regulation and fiscal reforms, countries can promote healthy diets, physical activity, and other initiatives reducing the prevalence and harms of NCDs.