Brazzaville, 08 March 2006 -- The continental consultation on Scaling Up Towards Universal Access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support in Africa ended Wednesday in the Congolese capital with the adoption of the Brazzaville Commitment  French  

Over 200 high level participants from 53 African countries meet in Brazzaville to discuss comprehensive scaling up of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support

Brazzaville, 03 March 2006 -- The 13th meeting of the Task Force on Immunization (TFI) in Africa ended on Thursday March 3, 2006 in Brazzaville, Congo with the adoption of 17 recommendations intended to reinforce Routine Immunization, eradicate polio and advance successes in accelerated disease control initiatives.

Brazzaville, 28 February 2006 -- The 13th meeting of the Task Force on Immunization (TFI) in Africa and the 12th meeting of the African Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Committee (ARICC) will take place from 28 February to 3 March 2006, in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. 

The TFI and ARICC meetings, held annually since 1993, provide a forum for the review of the regional immunisation activities to control vaccine preventable diseases, which cause nearly one million of childhood deaths in Africa every year.

Abuja, 13 February 2006 -- Nigeria’s Health Minister, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, has urged Nigerians not to panic and assured that the government was taking measures to ensure that there was no human infection of the bird flu confirmed in poultry in northern Nigeria early this month.

Abuja, 13 February 2006 -- A team of World Health Organization (WHO) experts led by the Agency’s Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, arrived Nigeria Sunday to support the country’s efforts to contain an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza which was first reported in Nigeria on 6 February. 

9 February 2006-- The confirmation of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry in Africa is a cause for great concern and demands immediate action. This is the first reported incidence of this highly pathogenic virus on the continent, where people are already enduring the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other serious infectious diseases. The H5N1 virus now confirmed in Nigeria poses a risk to human health and livelihood.

National Health Policy Would focus on the sustainable development of the health sector

Luanda, 9 February 2006 -- A team of international experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) is currently in Angola for a ten-day mission aimed at supporting the country in the process of elaboration of its National Health Policy. A special request in this regard has been made by the Ministry of Health which is willing to finalize a National Health Policy in the next two months, with the technical support of WHO.

Avian influenza - situation (birds) in Nigeria

8 February 2006

The confirmation of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in domestic birds in northern Nigeria marks the further geographical spread of this virus. Although all evidence to date indicates that the virus does not spread easily from birds to humans, careful monitoring of the situation is warranted.

27 January 2006 -- Abdullahi Wamzan, a community leader, watched with satisfaction as Attahiru Mohammed Chidawa, a trained health worker, vaccinated the children of Unguwan Magaji Lagan, a Kamberi Settlement in the Magama local government area (LGA) of Niger State. It was the first time ever that the community was hosting such an exercise to boost immunity in hard to reach areas among people who may not otherwise access immunization and other health services.