In Senegal, midwives are helping new mothers of premature or low-birth-weight babies improve their children’s chance for survival and healthy development. The answer lies in teaching them to emulate one the world’s most beloved animals.

Addis Ababa 18 November -- Rotarians from the United States of America and Canada have been supporting Ethiopia’s polio eradication efforts for over ten years. As part of their support, 32 Rotarians, representing the 24,000 Rotarians in the US and Canada, are currently visiting Ethiopia to better understand the challenges remaining to kick polio out of the country.

Dakar, 14 November 2013 -- The Harmonization for Health in Africa (HHA) partnership has expanded by admitting the Roll Back Malaria partnership to its membership. The admission of Roll Back Malaria took place in Dakar on Thursday at the opening of the 8th Annual Meeting of Regional Directors of agencies of the HHA partnership that now has 15 members.

An innovative programme developed with WHO is educating a new generation of leaders committed to expanding Africa’s health workforce.

As a newly graduated physician, Dr Amir Aman Hagos envisioned a future dedicated to reducing the impact of preventable communicable diseases. For the first two years after he finished his training at the University of Addis Ababa in 2009, that is precisely what he did as medical director of the Limu Genet Hospital in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria in collaboration with the WHO Nigeria country Office and the Senator Lee Maeba Foundation joined the rest of the world to mark the World Diabetes Day on 14th November 2013.

This year’s World Diabetes Day marks the fifth and final year of the 2009-2013 campaign on the theme: “Diabetes education and prevention” with the campaign slogan: Diabetes: Protect our future.

Brazzaville, 14 November 2013 -- WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has called on governments and their development partners as well as civil society organizations in the Region to carry out health awareness campaigns to sensitize the public on diabetes, particularly on how to prevent it.

Dr Sambo’s call is contained in his message on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, observed across the globe on 14 November.

Harare, 14 Nov. 2013 -- This was said by the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Paul Chimedza in a joint press conference he held with the WHO Representative for Zimbabwe, Dr David Okello and local media. This follows some media reports in the days following the Mass Drug Administration (MDAs) that some children were falling sick and 3 had died after taking the drugs.

Cape Town, 8 November 2013 -- The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Margaret Chan, has commended the BRICS countries for the progress in strengthening cooperation among them and improving the health of their populations. 

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Dakar, 12 November 2013 -- In a meeting of the Harmonization for Health in Africa (HHA) partnership, technical experts from multilateral and bilateral international agencies made a strong appeal for an enhanced coordinated approach to programme and funding in order to strengthen Africa’s health systems, ahead of the approaching 2015 deadline of the Mill