News Releases

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa pioneered mobile money transfer system under the Polio Eradication Initiative programme essentially to pay vaccination campaign workers. So far eight African countries have adopted the payment system, with others working to deploy mobile-based cash transfers in health programmes beyond polio. Dorcas Karimi, Digital Finance Officer with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, explains the progress achieved so far.

More than 80 million children have been vaccinated with the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in six countries in Africa, the world’s first region to rollout of the vaccine just months after the World Health Organization (WHO) gave it Emergency Use Listing status in November 2020.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, through the Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), is making available new analytical tools in the NTD Data Portal allowing Neglected Tropical Diseases programmes and stakeholders to better track rollout and impact of interventions, and make data-driven decisions on strategies.  

"Before, we had to go and find people willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, now they come by themselves!" exclaims Mr Elhadi Sidi Mohamed, head of the vaccination site at the National Hospital Center in Nouakchott, Mauritania.  "At the launch of the third vaccination campaign, we even had too many people here. Everyone wanted to be the first to be vaccinated.”

World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) multidisciplinary teams of specialists are set to be deployed to about 15 African countries. They will address obstacles that are impeding the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, with a view to supporting national authorities achieve the 10% coverage target for all populations as soon as possible, and 40% by the end of the year.

A new assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that only 14.2% – or one in seven – COVID-19 infections are being detected in Africa. To reverse that trend and curb transmission, the WHO Regional Office for Africa today announced a new initiative to enhance community screening for COVID-19 in eight countries. The programme aims to reach more than 7 million people with rapid diagnostic tests in the next year.

Ebola vaccination began today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province where a case was confirmed on 8 October. People at high risk, including contacts of the confirmed case and first responders will receive the doses as the health authorities move to curb the spread of the virus.

At least one in seven children in sub-Saharan Africa experiences significant psychological hardship. As the world marks World Mental Health Day, UNICEF and WHO shine a light on the need for increased investment and access to mental health prevention and response services on the continent.

The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo today announced that a new case of Ebola has been detected in the health zone of Butsili in North Kivu Province, where a previous outbreak was declared over 3 May 2021.

Fifteen African countries—nearly a third of the continent’s 54 nations—have fully vaccinated 10% of their people against COVID-19. The global goal of fully vaccinating 10% of every country’s population by 30 September was set in May by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body. Almost 90% of high income-countries have met this target.