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WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Midwives in South Sudan provide a lifeline in times of calm and crisis

This is especially important as the country reports one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally, with 692 maternal deaths for every 100 000 live births

Midwives play a critical role in South Sudan, facilitating antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and postnatal care for mothers and newborns to prevent death and promote a healthy future for both mothers and children. This is especially important as the country reports one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally,…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

The end of Ebola outbreak in Uganda demonstrates World Health Organization (WHO)’s value in controlling and stopping diseases

With the international imperative to prevent cross-border transmission, health workers were rapidly reoriented, thermal scanners were deployed, and screening protocols were enforced at 13 key entry points, especially at Entebbe International Airport

Uganda has officially declared the end of the Ebola disease outbreak, which was confirmed on 30 January 2025 by Uganda’s Ministry of Health. The outbreak infected 14 people, two of whom were probable (not confirmed by laboratory tests) and caused four deaths (including two probable).  Disease outbreaks, such as Ebola,…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Digitalization is revolutionising Mozambique’s malaria response

The country’s Ministry of Health faced an enormous challenge of dealing with large volumes of data from several different areas of its malaria control programme

Filipe Basílio, officer in charge of monitoring and evaluation in Mozambique’s malaria programme in the northern Nampula Province recalls the laborious task of data collection and analysis in his day-to-day work: "All record-keeping tools were manual and it used to take a long time for the data to reach the…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Vaccination progress helps save millions of lives in African region

Africa has also made tremendous progress in the fight against polio, recording a 93% decline in circulating variant poliovirus type 1 cases from 2023 to 2024 and a 65% decrease in variant poliovirus type 1 cases in just the past year

An increase in vaccine coverage in Africa is helping protect millions of people from life-threatening diseases such as measles, polio and cervical cancer. In 2023, vaccination saved at least 1.8 million lives in the African region, nearly half the global figure of 4.2 million. These advancements have been possible thanks…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

African health experts commit to accelerate efforts to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases

WHO is working closely with Member States and partners to adapt public health strategies, enhance surveillance, and ensure timely responses to evolving NTDs challenges

African health experts have renewed commitment to accelerate efforts to end Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) that continue to affect over a billion people globally, 40% of whom live in the African region. Meeting in Togo from 15 to 17 April 2025 for the NTD Programme Managers meeting, the experts also…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Health ministers launch landmark polio vaccination campaign to protect 83 million children in Lake Chad Basin

Over 50% of the polio cases reported in Chad in 2024 are linked to the strain circulating in Cameroon, underlining the importance of coordination and synchronization of polio response efforts

In a renewed effort to eradicate circulating polio variant type 2 in the Lake Chad Basin, Ministers of Health from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Nigeria launched today a synchronized regional vaccination campaign aimed at protecting 83 million under 5 children. The initiative is a crucial milestone…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Africa faces critical shortage of oral health workers amid rising disease burden

The WHO Africa regional oral heath workforce fact sheet will serve as a reference for policymakers and a wide range of stakeholders

Africa faces a chronic shortage of oral health workers due to underinvestment, leaving millions of people without adequate care and vulnerable to preventable oral diseases, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) workforce fact sheet on oral health released today.  The WHO fact sheet states that the region has been experiencing the…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

African region’s maternal and newborn mortality declining, but progress still slow

Despite a 40% decline in maternal mortality, from 727 to 442 deaths per 100 000 live births between 2000 and 2023, the region still accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths

The African region has made progress in lowering maternal mortality since 2000 but needs a 12-fold increase in the annual reduction rate to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) target of fewer than 70 deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030, new estimates by the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

African region records further decline in Tuberculosis (TB) deaths, cases

Deaths from TB fell by 42% between 2015 and 2023 while cases declined by 24% over the same period, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global TB Report 2024

The African region has recorded the steepest decline globally in tuberculosis (TB) deaths since 2015, despite falling short of key milestones to significantly lower the burden of the disease and end its toll on health and lives. Deaths from TB fell by 42% between 2015 and 2023 while cases declined…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

World Health Organization (WHO) Provides Urgent Medical Support to Ghana to Combat Meningitis Outbreak

The ongoing collaboration between WHO, Ghanaian health authorities, and local communities highlights a unified commitment to addressing the meningitis outbreak

Ghana is experiencing a worsening bacterial  meningitis outbreak in the Upper West Region, straining the country's healthcare system as cases continue to climb. With limited resources and rising fatalities, health authorities are racing against time to contain the disease and provide critical treatment to those affected. In response to the…