Ndapewa lay awake, listening to the sounds of the night: the leaves of the mopane trees rustling in the light breeze; in the distance, a donkey braying; and in her hut, her husband’s light snoring, and the fast, shallow breathing of her child, Ndakolo.

Kigoma, 18 June 2015 – The cholera risk remains high in villages around entry points for asylum seekers in Kigoma region, Western Tanzania. The daily influx of asylum seekers has caused the population in the Nyarugusu camp in Tanzania to swell to over 55 500.

Since the start of the outbreak on 10 May 2015, 4662 suspected/confirmed cholera cases and 34 deaths have been reported. Among these are 129 cases and 3 deaths among Tanzanians, mainly in Kagunga village, Kigoma urban and Karago village.

Accra, 17 June 2015-The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday called on Ghana to urgently ratify the Protocol on illicit trade of tobacco products in the country as a sure measure to protect public health.

The Organization urged the Ministry of Health to work to get the legal instrument on illicit trade of tobacco reviewed and submitted for parliamentary approval as soon as practicable.

Dr Magda Robalo, WHO Country Representative, made the appeal at the opening of a two-day high level meeting on Tobacco Taxation Policy in the African Region in Accra.

The rainy season brings with it the promise of better harvest, greener plains and valleys and abundance of feeds for cattle to produce highly nutritious milk and meat products. It also at the same time poses health threats in the form of possible disease outbreaks like Malaria and Acute Watery Diarrhea that could result from poodles of stagnant water, poor sanitary and hygiene conditions and impending floods. This is particularly true for the South Sudanese refugees and the surrounding host communities in Gambella.

65th session of Programme Subcommittee begins

The International Day of the Midwife was celebrated globally on 5 May 2015 and commemorated in Ethiopia on 7 May 2015 with the theme, “Midwives for a better tomorrow.”

With the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) coming to an end in September 2015, this is indeed a special year to highlight the role of midwives in the achievement of MDG 4 and in the progress towards the achievement of MDG 5 in Ethiopia. The recognition of midwives this year is key also in light of the world’s move to the UN Sustainable Development Goals beyond 2015.

The external assessment team that conducted the final Polio outbreak assessment in Ethiopia on 8-12 June 2015 confirmed that Ethiopia has successfully interrupted polio transmission. This encouraging conclusion was received nearly two years after the outbreak was confirmed in the Horn of Africa and outbreak activities initiated to respond to and interrupt Polio transmission.

Abuja, 15 June 2015 - Nigeria joined the rest of the world in marking the  2015 World Blood Donor Day, which commenced  with a procession along Shehu Shagari Way in  Abuja  dubbed “walk for life”, followed by a press briefing  on Saturday, 13th June 2015. The procession was led by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute.

A national conference aimed at launching a campaign to end child marriage in Eritrea was held at Hotel Asmara Palace in June 2016. The national launch was coordinated by the Ministry of Health, and a number of line ministries and other organizations like the Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare, Ministry of Education, the national Union of Eritrean Women, and the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students participated actively. The launch was organized in partnership with the African Union Commission, WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF.

The United Republic of Tanzania is one of 15 countries that is being supported by the Renewed Partnership, a collaborative initiative between the European Union (EU), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), which aims to improve patient health outcomes, achieve health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and attain universal health coverage.