Jigjiga/Wardher, 9 February 2015 - A pledge of commitment for a polio-free Ethiopia was made on 8 February 2015 in Jigjiga and Warher at the launch of the polio national immunization days (NIDs) in Somali Regional State. Ethiopia has been polio free since 5 January 2014, but the risk of polio cases in Horn of Africa prevails. The campaign running until 11 February 2015 aims to reach over one million children under the age of five in the region.

When violence erupted in South Sudan at the end of 2013, tens of thousands of people fleeing the conflict sought refuge in United Nations bases positioned around the country in the hope that peacekeepers stationed there would protect them. The bases were quickly overwhelmed, with families crammed together with little or no access to safe water or sanitation.

Then the rainy season approached, increasing the risk of water-borne diseases, in particular cholera, which is endemic to the country – with the potential for explosive outbreaks in the congested camps.

Thanks to preparedness activities by Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Health, FIFA and WHO, the one million people gathered in Equatorial Guinea for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations are able to focus more on footie than on fears of Ebola.

 So what does it take to ensure that capacities are in place to prevent, identify and respond to potential Ebola virus transmission at such a large mass gathering?

Mass gatherings: A growing science

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has produced increasing circles of victims beyond the infected and the dead. Survivors, families, children, and health workers are dealing with the stress and trauma left behind by the disease.

On 30 January 2015, the Minister of Health, Dr Jean Kalilani and WHO Representative (WR) Dr Eugene Nyarko visited the worst flood affected districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje. Accompanying the Minister and the WR were the Secretary for Health and the Ministry of Health Directors. The purpose of the visit was to assess the health situation of displaced people living in the camps.
 

Three Liberian ambulances, with 20 Liberian staff joining their Sierra Leonean colleagues in the fight to end Ebola
After a two-day journey bumping along more than 500 kms over rough roads and dirt tracks, 3 ambulances and a team of 20 Liberian health experts have arrived at last in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
The team aims to train up its Sierra Leonean counterparts and establish the base of a First Responder Team. They plan to stay at least 6 months and the ambulances will remain in Sierra Leone.

The World Cancer Day in Kenya has been marked by a call for heightened public awareness, greater responsibility and action by all stakeholders and the need for a medical environment that enables early screening, access to treatment and better trained personnel.

The calls come at the backdrop of the Kenyan situation in which 27 000 people are estimated to die of the disease annually and between 20 000 and 80 000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually.

Ibadan, Oyo Nigeria 5 February, 2015 – To sustain interruption of wild poliovirus transmission in Nigeria, the World Health Organization’s Immunization, Vaccines and Emergencies (IVE) Cluster conducted a weeklong review and planning meeting in Ibadan, Oyo from 2 to 6 February 2015. 
 
The six geo-political zones reviewed their performances in 2014, developed zonal and state work plans for 2015, strengthened routine immunization activities, enhanced surveillance systems, and solidified the accountability framework to ensure prudent management of resources.
 

Lusaka, 4 February 2015 -- It has been estimated that 23% of deaths or a population of 2.4 million per year is attributable to environmental risk factors, whose impact is especially felt among the poor and vulnerable (children, women and rural and people with disabilities).

About 60% of the ecosystem services are being degraded or subjected to pressure with consequences on the quality of air and water and an increase in natural disasters. Climate change is expected to affect health, agriculture, food security and water sectors.

WHO supported the Ministry of Health to conduct a review meeting on Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) in South Sudan from 27 to 28 January 2015. 
 
Addressing delegates at the meeting, WHO Representative to South Sudan Dr. Tarande Constant Manzila commended the Ministry of Health’s commitment to prioritize the implementation and strengthening of communicable disease surveillance through the adoption and implementation of the IDSR strategy at all levels.