News Releases

African health ministers commit to end malaria deaths

Ministers of Health from African countries with the highest burden of malaria committed today to accelerated action to end deaths from the disease. They pledged to sustainably and equitably address the threat of malaria in the African region, which accounts for 95% of malaria deaths globally.

WHO Africa, UNICEF and Partners poised to advance implementation of Baby-Friendly Ho...

In a concerted effort to strengthen maternal and child health services across Africa, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), convened a capacity-building workshop targeting healthcare professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders from ten countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).

Cameroon kicks off malaria vaccine rollout

Yaoundé – Cameroon today launched the RTS,S malaria vaccine into its routine national immunization services, becoming the first country to do so outside the malaria vaccine pilot programme that was carried out in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. The introduction comes as efforts gather pace to scale up vaccination against the disease in high risk areas in Africa.

WHO Africa, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pursue collaboration to leverage data ...

Brazzaville - The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) have committed to strengthening collaboration towards the use of data analytics in the fight against diseases in the African region.

The commitment was made during a technical visit to the WHO Africa office in Brazzaville, Congo by a delegation from BMGF led by Jennifer Gardy, Deputy Director, Surveillance, Data, and Epidemiology from 8 to 10 January 2024.

WHO Africa welcomes Gavi’s commitment to Africa vaccine manufacture, immunization an...

Brazzaville – The quest to protect Africa from vaccine-preventable diseases has received a significant boost, with the commitment of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to invest US$ 1.8 billion to support  African vaccine manufacturing, catching up missed children and pandemic preparedness.

The decision taken last week by the Gavi Board at its meeting in Accra, Ghana will help the continent to recover from the impact COVID-19 pandemic and be better prepared to respond to future public health emergencies.

Scaling up country support for NTD eradication

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) roadmap 2021-2030, initiating a decade dedicated on controlling, eliminating, and eradicating NTDs. The WHO Regional Office for Africa is stepping up support for countries on the implementation of the roadmap to bolster the fight against NTDs and accelerate progress towards attainment of the roadmap targets and goals.