Harare, 1 Dec. 2015: The Zimbabwe Health Professions Authority is one of the best examples of regulatory bodies in Africa, Dr. David Okello, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe has said.

Accra, 01 December, 2015 - Dr Owen Laws Kaluwa, on Tuesday 01 December, 2015, presented his credentials to the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Hannah Tetteh to officially assume office as the World Health Organization Representative (WR) to Ghana.

CAR has been experiencing socio-political and military crises for decades, leading to less investment in health system development, including a lack of appropriate health facilities, medical equipment, and qualified health workers (about 250 medical doctors for 4.6 million inhabitants, or five  doctors for every 100,000 people). District health systems are not functional in many regions and community participation in health system management is weak.

Highlights

An integrated nationwide Maternal and Child Health Week campaign (MCHW) is underway in Sierra Leone aimed at restoring the delivery of essential health services which were interrupted during the Ebola outbreak. The campaign locally known as “Mammy and Pikin Wellbodi Week” is being conducted from 26-30 November with the focus of reaching an estimated 1.3 million children under 5 years with vitamin A supplementation and deworming with Albendazole. It also provides opportunity to reach children 0-23 months that missed other routine vaccination services.

Harare, 27 November 2015 –The world  is poised to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 – provided it can accelerate the pace of progress achieved globally over the past 15 years, according to a new  World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Already, much has been achieved. This year, the Millennium Development Goal that called for halting and reversing the spread of HIV on a global basis was met.

By 2014, the number of HIV deaths was reduced by 42% - from a peak of more than 2 million in 2004 to an estimated 1.2 million.

Kampala 27th November 2015: Uganda launched the new National Medicines Policy (NMP) and National Pharmaceutical Sector Strategic Plan III (NPSSPIII) in a meeting held at Hotel African in Kampala. The objectives of the meeting were to launch the two documents, share the dissemination plan and get commitment and involvement of stakeholders in implementing the NPSSSPII.

Kasese, 26th November 2015: Uganda launched the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV Vaccine) at Bwera Secondary School grounds, Kasese district. The Vaccine is meant to protect girls and women against cancer of the cervix.

Kampala, 26th November 2015: Uganda held a National symposium to discuss the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all Ugandans under the theme “Towards Universal Health Coverage in Uganda: Building on successes and ensuring Health Systems resilience” at Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala to discuss future of UHC in Uganda, the Health system capacity and the roles of different stakeholders towards achieving UHC.

26 November 2015: “I was on my way home from the school when my bus came under fire,” says 11-year-old Niatou Christy Judicael, who was injured in both legs on 4 November when his bus was shot at with automatic weapons.

N’Djamena, 24 November 2015 – Today, delegates at the 65thSession of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa endorsed the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO)’s Transformation Agenda, a vision and strategy that will ensure the Organization is better equipped to be the primary leader in promoting health in Africa.