Members of Parliament commit to advocating for the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Uganda

Members of Parliament, Ministry of Health, WHO officials and partners at the breakfast meeting

Kampala, 13th December 2018: - On 12th December 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its member states commemorated the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day. In Uganda, a high-level breakfast meeting was convened by the Ministry of Health (MoH) with support from WHO and other partners- Living Goods and PATH to engage parliamentarians on promoting UHC as a smart investment for the country and their role in achieving UHC through a multi-sectoral approach.

Building Health: Kenya’s Move to Universal Health Coverage

One dark night, James Kimeu Mulei had a nasty encounter. The sixty-year old Kenyan man fell victim to a violent attack in which he sustained a broken ankle and was unable to walk. A few years ago, the story might have ended there: with an elderly man permanently crippled and unable to work. But because James has access to affordable health insurance he is on the road to recovery. After the attack, his son brought him to the hospital, which is easily accessible from his village. His leg was x-rayed, it was put in a cast and he was given medication and an appointment for a follow-up visit three weeks later.

Prescription of physical activity as one of the strategies to tackle Non Communicable Diseases in Mauritius

Opening of the workshop on implementation of exercise prescription in Mauritius
A workshop on implementation of exercise prescription in Mauritius was held on 03 December 2018 at Gold Crest Hotel, Quatre Bornes. Dr Anwar Husnoo, the Minister of Health and Quality of Life in his speech, reiterated the government strong commitment to fight the NCD scourge. The latter, he stated, is accentuated by the low levels of physical activity in the Mauritian population with only 23% of the adult population meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations of 150 weekly minutes of physical activity and only 19% of the secondary school students engaged in regular physical activities. He welcomed the excellent joint collaborative initiative of his Ministry and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to address physical inactivity which is the 4th leading risk factor for death worldwide. He elaborated on the myriad health and social benefits of regular physical activity. Speaking about the measure to implement physical activity prescription in Mauritius, the Minister pointed out that this will represent a paradigm shift in the way patients receive treatment and will contribute a lot in reducing the public health care burden.

Belgium and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invest to win the fight against NTDs

Brazzaville, December 10, 2018 – Leading philanthropists as well as African and European governments have announced more than US$150 million to tackle neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which still affect 1.5 billion people around the world. The announcements to fund the prevention and treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) were made at the Mandela100 festival in Johannesburg, South Africa, co-hosted by the Government of South Africa, the House of Mandela, Motsepe Foundation, and the activist network Global Citizen.

South Sudan set to vaccinate targeted healthcare and frontline workers operating in high risk states against Ebola

Participants in a group photo with the facilitators

Juba 8 December, 2018 – The Ministry of Health of the Republic of South Sudan with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), DFID, GAVI vaccine alliance and other partners, is set to vaccinate targeted healthcare and frontline workers operating in high risk states bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Ebola virus disease (EVD) as part of national preparedness efforts.

Eritrea Observed World AIDS Day 2018

WHO Representative for Eritrea, Dr Josephine Namboze making a speech

World AIDS Day 2018 was observed in Eritrea on 1 December 2018 under the theme “Know your Status” in Keren at the stadium with enthusiasm. This year was the 30th anniversary to mark the day. The event was started with a very detailed, clear, attractive and educative presentation on current situation of HIV/AIDS both at global and national levels, by Dr Araya Berhane, Head of the communicable diseases control division.