Harare, 5 October 2004-- Maternal mortality is a "silent emergency" claiming the lives of millions of African women and reversing otherwise impressive post-independence socioeconomic gains recorded in countries in the African Region, the World Health Organization Regional Office (AFRO) for Africa said on Tuesday.

Harare, 5 October 2004 - The third meeting of the African Reproductive Health Task Force was officially opened Tuesday in Harare, Zimbabwe, with a call on African countries and the international community at large to allocate more resources to reproductive health programmes with a view to stemming the tide of maternal and child deaths.

WHAT: Third Regional Reproductive Health Task Force meeting.

WHERE: Sheraton Hotel (Room Jacaranda 1), Harare

WHEN: 4-8 October 2004. The opening session will take place on Monday 4 October with comments by Officials from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and the Director of Programme Management at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, among others.

Kano, Nigeria: 2 October 2004-- The Executive Governor of Kano State, Nigeria, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has reiterated that the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) is safe for consumption by children. He has consequently directed all Kano indigenes and indeed all Nigerians to ensure that their children below five years of age are immunized during the forthcoming National Immunization Days (NIDs) scheduled for 9th - 12th October 2004, as well as in subsequent rounds.

Brazzaville, 20 September 2004-- The out-going WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, has expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the just-concluded 54th session of the Regional Committee meeting in Brazzaville, which nominated Dr Luis Sambo of Angola to succeed him early next year.

"The nomination exercise was a model of orderliness and transparency with the winning candidate collecting a clear 32 votes during the first round of balloting," Dr Samba told reporters in the Congolese capital on Saturday.

Brazzaville, 4 September -- Nigeria has re-affirmed its commitment to the global goal of polio eradication and announced three rounds of national immunization campaigns between this month and the end of 2004.

"The Federal Government of Nigeria hereby states its continued commitment to polio eradication through national ownership and strengthened partnerships", Nigeria's Health Minister, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, on Friday told the 54th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa meeting in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

Brazzaville, 3 September 2004 --- The fifty-fourth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa ended Friday in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, after nominating a new Regional Director and adopting resolutions aimed at scaling up action in critical areas that are key to improving the health situation in the region.

Brazzaville, 2 September 2004 -- Child and sexual abuse can be prevented and better managed through a set of priority interventions such as vigorous advocacy and communication, enhanced law enforcement and the development of a standardized protocol for clinical care and management.

Child and sexual abuse has been defined as the involvement of a child in sexual activity that the child cannot comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared or which violates the social taboos of society.

Brazzaville, 2 September 2004 -- Several rounds of nationwide mass immunization are planned for Nigeria and neighboring Niger Republic in 2004 to interrupt the remaining chains of indigenous wild poliovirus transmission in those countries.

Brazzaville, 2 September 2004 -- How can nutrition be better prioritized within health and other development sectors in Africa? What should countries do to improve their technical capacity for nutrition programmes, mobilize resources, and strengthen nutritional information systems? How can African countries be supported to attain food and nutritional security?