Malaria control campaign launched in Democratic Republic of the Congo to save lives and aid Ebola response

Malaria control campaign launched in Democratic Republic of the Congo to save lives and aid Ebola response
A spike in malaria cases is threatening the health of people in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where health workers are also battling an Ebola outbreak.  In response, a four-day mass drug administration (MDA) campaign was launched today in the Northern Kivu province town of Beni, with a target to reach up to 450 000 people with anti-malarial drugs combined with the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

Congo - Thierry Maba

Thierry Maba

Thierry Maba had a plan. It was 1991 and he would leave his native Congo to pursue his education in Algeria. A compulsory blood test was a standard part of the admissions procedure and Thierry didn’t think anything of it. But when the test revealed that he was HIV-positive, the university cancelled his scholarship and suddenly, at 19 years old, Thierry no longer had a plan.

Uganda - Moses Nsubuga

Moses Nsubuga
Moses “Supercharger” Nsubuga, a musician and radio host in Uganda, has been living with HIV since 1994. “I lived in denial for four years and did not want anyone to know that I had HIV”, he says. He points out that given the nature of his work, admitting his status meant risking the loss of his audience and being stigmatized. “However, living in denial didn’t help me at all. I fell sick, became weak, lost weight and could barely work”, he says.

Ghana launches Sub National Immunization Days (NIDs) against Yellow Fever

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service delivering the keynote address at the Launch

The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF has launched a sub national campaign aimed to vaccinate 5.3 million people against yellow fever in nine regions in Ghana. The event took place in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Kenya - Asunta Wagura

Asunta Wagura
It was 1988 when Asunta Wagura was diagnosed with HIV – a time when such a diagnosis was literally a death sentence. Rejected by family and friends, Asunta found herself on the streets of Nairobi with nothing. Together with several friends, Asunta started an association to help others in her situation known as KENWA (the Kenyan Network of Women with AIDS).

The Gambia Marks World Diabetes Day 2018

Mr. Momodou Gassama, delivering a statement on behalf of The WHO Representative, Dr. Desta Tiruneh

BANJUL 26 NOVEMBER 2018: The Gambia joined the international community in observing World Diabetes Day (WDD), 14 November 2018.  The Day was observed in two separate events. The first leg of the activities was a long walk organized by the Gambia Diabetes Association (GDA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the WHO Country Office, volunteers and civil society organizations, which terminated in a ceremony at the Young Men Christian Association Headquarters.

“In Our Hands”: Community-led film raises awareness of HIV self-testing worldwide

HIV self-testing demonstration | Augustine Choko from the LSHTM and Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust demonstrated how to self-test for the LSHTM audience. He also shared information about the high uptake of HIV self-testing among men in Malawi | Photo: Anne Koerber, LSHTM
HIV self-testing presents an opportunity to reach the 30% of people with HIV who do not yet know their HIV status. Following the WHO recommendation to use HIV self-testing as an additional HIV testing tool, more countries are starting to develop and implement policies. As of January 2018, 14 countries were actively implementing HIV self-testing services, 42 had developed policies to enable such services, and an additional 47 reported that a policy was in development.

Uganda Virus Research Institute approved as a regional reference laboratory for Yellow Fever

Assistant Entomologist at the UVRI arbovirolgy department identifying mosquitoes

Entebbe, 26th November 2018:- The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) has been certified to perform yellow fever regional reference lab functions in the Arbovirology department that supports yellow fever diagnostic surveillance. This makes UVRI the only certified Yellow fever reference laboratory in Eastern Africa and the second in the African Region, the other being Institut Pasteur Dakar (IPD) in Senegal.