The World Health Organization is supporting a five day theoretical and bench training of laboratory scientists and technologists on identification of bacterial pathogens, at the Central Public Health Reference Laboratory (CPHRL) in Freetown.

06 September 2012 / Pretoria -- Seventy Health Workers representing national and nine provincial health departments completed a three day Risk Communication Training Workshop organized jointly by the National Department of Health (NDoH), the WHO Country Office (WCO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC). The training focused on building capacities in communication systems, processes and skills required to detect, assess, inform and respond to public health emergencies in a timely and effective manner.

The cholera situation in Sierra Leone has still on the rise. Cumulatively, the districts are reporting over two hun-dred cases per day. Majority of the cases are occurring in the Western Area (urban and suburban communities of the Capital, Freetown) where the outbreak was first confirmed in June 2012.

Cholera Situation in Sierra Leone, 6 September, 2012

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Banjul, 06 September 2012 -- The tenth edition of the African Traditional Medicines Day was planned, coordinated and commemorated by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the WHO Country Office and the national Traditional Healers Association of The Gambia (TRAHASS). It was launched at the Kanifing Municipal Council’s Grounds on Friday 31st August 2012.

« Fatality rate especially high in some countries »

Dakar/Brazzaville, 5 September 2012 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s agency, UNICEF, are warning that the current cholera emergency in West Africa is set to get much worse as rains and floods create the conditions for the disease to spread faster and further.

The ongoing cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone is still on the increase with the Capital City and its suburbs (Western Area) accounting for more than 50% of the reported cases and about 34% of the deaths nationally. Kailahun remains the only district in the country without a confirmed cholera case. Active surveillance and social mobilisation activities are however underway in that district to prevent spread of the disease in case of an outbreak there.

In Sierra Leone, the situation with the current cholera outbreak is still critical. As of September 3, 2012, a cumulative of 15,838 cases with 251 deaths giving a case fatality Rate of 1.6% was reported by the Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control.

According to daily reports, district that reported the highest number of cases include: Western Area (169), Bombali (18) and Kenema (18). There is improvement in data collection from all districts. In the Western Area over 79% of facilities report daily.

03 September 2012, EHNRI, Addis Ababa -- The Third Round of the International Training Course on Planning and Management of Malaria Control Programs for Anglophone African Countries is underway, launched on the 3rd of September 2012, at Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI) in Addis Ababa. In attendance were Dr. Amha Kebede, Acting Director General of the EHNRI, Dr. Khaled Bessaoud, Acting WHO Representative to Ethiopia and Dr. Basimike Mulenda, WHO/AFRO Focal point for malaria capacity development.

As of 2 September 2012, the cumulative number of cases and deaths reported by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation were 15,564 and 249 deaths respectively. Twelve (12) of the 13 districts in the country are now affected. On 2 September 2012, Western Area continued to report the highest number of cases (187), followed by Bombali (16), Tonkolili (12) and Kenema (11). No death was reported from all the districts. It is noted that case management has improved in most districts.

Nairobi Kenya, 03rd September-12th October 2012 -- Tuberculosis remains a major public health problem in almost all the countries in the African region. Currently, the region accounts for almost 24% of all TB notifications globally and nine (9) out of the 22 TB high burden countries in the world coming from this region.