Mazowe, 13 May 2015: The call was made during the belated commemoration of World Health Day which was held at Mazowe Prison Farm. Zimbabwe  commemorated a belated World Health Day under the theme Food Safety- from farm to plate, make food safe. The theme highlights the urgent need for governments; organizations; food producers; food businesses and consumers to put measures in place that will improve food safety from the point of production to consumption.

The last week of April each year is marked by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners as World Immunization Week. It aims to raise public awareness of how immunization saves lives, encouraging people everywhere to vaccinate themselves and their children against deadly diseases. This year, World Immunization Weekwas observed on 24-30 April with the message, “Close the Immunization Gap”. As part of the week-long event, the African Vaccination Week was held with the theme, “Vaccination: a gift for life”. 

Lilongwe, Malawi: 11 May 2015: The preliminary analysis reports from Nsanje District Health Office, in Malawi have shown that close to 135, 000 Internally Displaced Persons and the people from surrounding communities have so far received the Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) in Nsanje district. This in general represents 84% of the target population (134,603/160,482) that received the OCV.

Abuja, 12 May 2015- The World Health Organization Country Representative (WR), Dr Rui Gama Vaz has advised the government of Nigeria to consider sustainable funding options for immunization that promote equity and ensure the poor are not disproportionately burdened.

He gave the advice in his speech at a media roundtable in Abuja on 12 May, 2015, organized by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to deliberate on the vaccine financing as part of events to seal  the 2015 Africa Vaccination Week.

The Government of Ethiopia announced the achievement of the MDG 7c target on access to drinking water supply on 23 March 2015. Today, over 52 million people in Ethiopia have access to clean and safe water, compared to only 6 million people in 1990. This achievement was confirmed after the WHO/UNICEF Global Joint Monitoring Programme for Water and Sanitation (JMP) mission to Ethiopia in November 2014. 

Brazzaville, 11 May 2015 – Taking into account the many challenges faced on the African continent and the necessity for an accountability framework for health security, the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and partners is in the process of launching the Centres for

The 10th TB Research Annual Conference was held in Adama, Oromia Region, on 21-23 March 2015 preceding the World TB Day commemoration in Asella, Oromia, on 24 March 2015. The Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health, the TB Research Advisory Committee, Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Arsi University and Adama Hospital Medical College, was attended by more than 300 participants from the Ministry and its agencies, regional health bureaus, academia, research and partner organizations like the World Health Organization in Ethiopia.

Port Harcourt, Rivers 11 May 2015 - The reinforced partnership with private health facilities in Rivers State is beginning to yield unprecedented results as recent exit interviews indicate that 92%  of caregivers were satisfied with routine immunization services despite the lingering industrial action embarked upon by public health workers of Rivers State. As at the end of March 2015, the state’s routine immunization (RI) coverage stands at 58% for Penta 3 which is on course to attaining the national target of 80% by end of the year.

The eighth World Malaria Day was celebrated for the eighth time on 25 April 2015 in Hawassa, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) in a colorful event that called for renewed commitment and increased investment towards Malaria control and elimination. The message of this year’s World Malaria Day is, “Invest in the Future.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have a longstanding and strong partnership in Africa, consisting of technical and financial collaboration. To enhance their strategic cooperation on HIV/AIDS, WHO and CDC conducted a multi-country grant implementation and strategic review meeting on 9-11 March 2015 in Addis Ababa. CDC and WHO staff from Headquarters and Regional Offices, as well as the country offices of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Namibia, South Africa and Uganda, took part in the meeting.