Kaduna, 11 April 2017 - Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Healthcare (NTLC), with support from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), convened an emergency meeting with Governors of the 19 northern states and other stakeholders to discuss the management of the current outbreak of Neisseria Meningitidis serotype C. The major objective of the meeting aimed to devise holistic strategy to forestall fatalities and avert future occurrences.

Following the Ebola crisis, a decade-long Civil War and with significant poverty, depression is estimated to be very common in Sierra Leone, affecting at least three percent of the population in any single year. Mental health practitioners also report that anxiety, psychosis and substance abuse are significant public health concerns. 

Maiduguri, 11 April 2017 - Although, Borno has reported 22 suspected cases of meningitis in 2017, yet no case has been confirmed in the State. Preparedness measures to contain any outbreak have been put in place including prepositioning of additional 7000 doses of ceftriaxone, reactivation of Rapid Response Team, community sensitization and capacity building for surveillance focal points with support from World Health Organization (WHO).

Maiduguri, 10 April 2017 - The World Health Organization (WHO) is  committed to providing urgently needed humanitarian health sector support towards reducing morbidity and mortality in the on-going crisis in Borno state.

Damaturu, 10 April 2017 - The Executive Governor of Yobe state, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam has expressed gratitude to the World Health Organization (WHO) for providing technical, financial and human resources for improving the health indicators of the people of Yobe state, including displaced persons, despite the threats of insecurity.

A new SMS-based reporting system has been introduced in Sierra Leone to improve identification, detection and reporting of suspected acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases in children less than 15 years, with the initial training of 520 health workers and community informants.

The Government of Seychelles has called for a scale up of mentalhealthservices so as to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, endorsed at the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.

Gaborone, Botswana, 7 April 2017 - Her Excellency, Katie Ransome, the British High Commissioner to Botswana visited the WHO Botswana Country Office to explore opportunities for collaboration between her office and the WHO Country Office. Her visit coincided with the presence of the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, in Botswana. Dr Moeti was in the country to attend the UN Africa Regional Director’s meeting.

Juba, 7 April 2017 - Under the theme “Depression. Let's talk”, South Sudan has joined the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s World Health Day in a series of activities which culminated with public lecture on depression, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis on 7th April, 2017 at Juba University.

Harare, 7 April 2017 - Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Health Day at Harare Central Hospital grounds in an event which also saw the official opening of the psychiatric OPD and renovated in-patient departments; as well as the launch of the Mental Health Discharge Guidelines. World Health Day was commemorated under the theme Depression; Let’s talk, which draws attention to the global burden of this common mental disor-der.