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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…

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

Community engagement in the fight against cholera in Angola: Mr Celestino Mbambali – “The Lifesaver”

The WHO has played a key role in responding to the cholera outbreak in Angola, collaborating closely with the Ministry of Health (MINSA), Ministry of Water and Energy and the Provincial Health Office to contain the spread of the disease

For more than twenty-five years of volunteering in his community, 55-year-old Celestino Mbambali has witnessed countless health emergencies, including cholera outbreaks. A qualified nurse by profession, he was always concerned about the lack of a health center in his neighborhood and, driven by his commitment to his neighbors, decided to take…

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

Protecting the Central African Republic’s remote communities from polio

The vaccination team navigated difficult terrain, poor road conditions and the risk of armed groups presence in the area

In the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio, the Central African Republic has placed a special emphasis on reaching vulnerable and underserved populations. Populations in mining regions like Zoubala, a locality in the Bossombélé district about two hours from Bangui, the capital, face unique challenges and heightened risks of poliovirus transmission. In…

WHO Regional Office for Africa

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Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Angola vaccinates over 1 million people as it bolsters cholera outbreak control efforts

More than 1 million people have been vaccinated in the three hardest-hit provinces in a five-day campaign to complement the ongoing public health measures to halt the spread of the infectious disease

Antonio Morais, from Paraíso neighborhood in Cacuaco, one of Luanda’s nine municipalities, has witnessed friends and neighbours succumb to cholera. So, when Morais heard about an oral cholera vaccination campaign as part of Angola’s efforts to step up outbreak control, he was first in line to receive a vaccine. “I…

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

Urgent action needed to reinforce breast cancer control measures in Africa: World Health Organization (WHO) report

The WHO report underscores the urgent need for investment in leadership, governance and financing as fundamental steps

An estimated 135 000 women could lose their lives to breast cancer by 2040 in sub-Saharan Africa if urgent actions are not taken to reverse the trends, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report finds. The WHO study assessed breast cancer control capacities in 42 of the 47 countries within…