Photo Stories

Nairobi—Kenya is addressing critical gaps in access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services in six priority counties, including those with health clients that are hard to reach.

Kigali—Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in Rwanda. With around 1230 new diagnoses and around 830 deaths each year the disease is an ongoing concern for health authorities.

Nairobi – In Kenya, regular mass drug administration is protecting a new generation from the effects of lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis ‒ a neglected tropical disease that affects the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma.

Bulape, Democratic Republic of the Congo — As the Democratic Republic of the Congo counts down to declare the end of its sixteenth Ebola outbreak that erupted in Kasai Province, response teams are sustaining efforts to protect communities through vaccination, helping to strengthen preventive measures and reducing the risk of resurgence of the virus.

Bulape – A newly-established Ebola treatment centre in Bulape health zone has significantly bolstered clinical care and the overall response by the health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to end an outbreak of the virus declared in Kasai Province on 4 September 2025.

Operational since 9 October, the 32-bed treatment facility was designed to ensure high standards of infection prevention and control for the safety of both patients and health care workers.

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%.