Photo Stories

São Tomé ‒ São Tomé and Príncipe has made remarkable strides against malaria. Over the past five years, only two malaria-related deaths have been recorded in the country.

In the first quarter of 2025, the country registered 1293 malaria cases and no deaths. The Autonomous Region of Príncipe, the smaller of the two main islands that constitute São Tomé and Príncipe, registered just three cases of malaria as of March 2025, compared with nine in the same period the year before.

Nairobi ‒ Since the launch of the Tobacco-Free Farms initiative in 2022, over 9000 farmers in Kenya have shifted from tobacco farming to alternative livelihoods.  

The initiative’s primary aim is to provide tobacco farmers with sustainable, profitable livelihoods by encouraging them to grow alternative food crops. This not only addresses the health risks of tobacco farming but also the social, economic and environmental damage it causes.

Nairobi ‒ Kenya is strengthening its national cholera outbreak preparedness and response during the current long rainy season, expected to last until the end of May. Four counties ‒ Nairobi, Kisumu,Migori and Kwale ‒ are experiencing a cholera outbreak, which was declared in late February 2025. So far, 256 suspected cases and 13 deaths have been reported, with a case fatality rate of 5.2%, exceeding the 1% threshold which indicates early and adequate treatment of cholera patients. 
 

Maseru ‒ Lesotho is taking steps to improve maternal and newborn health with the acquisition and management of the m-mama platform, a mobile application for emergency referral to ensure timely pregnancy and childbirth care in communities.

Nairobi ‒ Kenya has made remarkable progress in promoting breastfeeding. Between 2003 and 2022, exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months increased from 13% to 60%, surpassing World Health Assembly’s target of at least 50% by 2025, and exceeding the 2023 global average of 48%. 

Maputo – The devastating impact of Cyclone Chido has affected more than 620 000 people in Mozambique, with the three northern provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa worst-hit by the cyclone which made landfall on 15 December 2024, damaging homes, schools and other crucial infrastructure. Forty-eight health facilities have been damaged and equipment and medical supplies destroyed.

Gaborone ‒ To improve road safety and reduce the risk of road traffic injuries and deaths, Botswana is implementing a range of measures from widespread public education programmes to enforcing stricter traffic laws that have begun paying off.

Addis Ababa – Ethiopia has made major strides in reducing the prevalence of leprosy, eliminating it as a public health problem in the country in 1999, following consistent efforts spanning over four decades.

Bukavu - The index case of mpox was reported in September 2023 in Kamituga, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since then, the outbreak has spread to 32 out of the 34 health zones in South Kivu. Between 1 January and 9 December 2024, World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 14, 572 mpox cases across 19 countries in the African Region, with 11,984 cases in the DRC alone. 

Freetown ‒ Sierra Leone has long had one of the world’s highest burdens of maternal mortality. But local health authorities have made commendable efforts to combat this devastating trend, as well high rates of infant mortality, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners.