Ministers of Health of guinea worm disease-affected countries have reiterated their commitment to breaking transmission of the disease by the end of 2015.

Based on the National Health Policy, the MOH developed the Health Sector Strategic Development Plan (HSSDP 2012-2016). It provides the guidance and priorities to move from policy to action and sets the overall objectives, strategies, outputs and targets that are to be attained. The HSSDP is implemented through Annual Operational Plans, specific for each level of service provision. It has been over two and half years since the HSSDP has been implemented.

Brazzaville/ Dar es Salaam, 19 May 2015 – A severe humanitarian crisis is developing in Tanzania as thousands of refugees from Burundi seek asylum due to escalating political tensions. The situation is especially worrisome in Kagunga village in Tanzania where the original population of 11 382 has increased to over 90 000 since the crisis began in April 2015.

Abuja, 19 May 2015 - Nigeria has made significant progress towards the interruption of polio viruses with no confirmed case in 2015 and nine months have elapsed since the last case of wild poliovirus (WPV) was confirmed. Similarly, the latest confirmed circulating vaccine derived polio virus (cVDPV) was isolated six months ago.

However, this gain is threatened by cVDPV in the environment of Kamacha River in Zaria of Kaduna state in March 2015 and in Sokoto South Local Government Area (LGA) in Sokoto state in 2014.

15 May 2015 -- The Sixty-eighth session of the World Health Assembly takes place in Geneva 18–26 May 2015, as officials from 194 Member States begin their annual review of the activities of WHO and set new priorities for the future.

On 15 May, 2015, a meeting was held to reinvigorate the Health Cluster/Group in Guinea. In attendance were each of the UN agencies as well as international and national NGOs. With the onset of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa last year, the health cluster operations were paralyzed.

Kaberamaido, 14 May 2015:- Uganda commemorated the World Malaria Day in Kaberamaido district with an appeal to communities to always sleep under Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) and to test for malaria before treatment.

An Independent Advisory Group (IAG), comprising renowned public health experts and leaders, has endorsed the Africa Health Transformation Programme 2015–2020: a vision for universal health coverage, proposed by Dr Moeti, the World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa.

The UN Global Road Safety Week, commemorated in Addis Ababa with the theme, Save Kids’ Lives (#SaveKidsLives) brings students and teachers of schools with high risk for road accidents due to proximity to heavy road traffic together with officials from the Ministries of Health and Transport, the Addis Ababa Bureaus of Education, Health and Transport and the Federal and Addis Ababa Traffic Police as well as WHO for a dialogue on saving children’s lives from road accidents.

Alcohol impacts people and societies in different ways and is determined by the volume of alcohol consumed, the pattern of drinking, and, on rare occasions, the quality of alcohol consumed.