Nearly 10 000 children vaccinated as malaria vaccine rollout in Africa expands

A wider malaria vaccine rollout is underway this year in several African countries, with Cameroon being the first outside the malaria vaccine pilot programme to do so

Nearly 10 000 children in Burkina Faso and Cameroon have now received the RTS,S malaria vaccine since being introduced this year. A wider malaria vaccine rollout is underway this year in several African countries, with Cameroon being the first outside the malaria vaccine pilot programme to do so. Cameroon launched…

Coronavirus - Burkina Faso: COVID-19 Awareness by Community Health Workers in Burkina Faso

Community health workers in the Sahel Region, Burkina Faso, share information on how to prevent COVID-19. With the support of EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, World Health Organization (WHO) is raising awareness about the virus among IDPs & vulnerable populations.

Coronavirus - Burkina Faso: World Health Organization (WHO) team raising awareness about COVID-19 in the Sahel region, Burkina Faso

WHO teams visit Wendebel camp for internally displaced persons in the Sahel region, Burkina Faso. With the help of local leaders & King Baudouin Foundation, the team is raising awareness about COVID-19 & prevention measures.

Togo is first African country to end sleeping sickness as a public health problem

Sleeping sickness is caused by parasites which are transmitted by infected tsetse flies and is only found in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa

Togo has received validation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis or “sleeping sickness” as a public health problem, becoming the first country in Africa to reach this milestone. Sleeping sickness is caused by parasites which are transmitted by infected tsetse flies and is only…

Over 10 000 health workers in Africa infected with COVID-19

Inadequate access to personal protective equipment or weak infection prevention and control measures raise the risk of health worker infection

The World Health Organization (WHO)(https://www.afro.who.int/) today warned of the threat posed by COVID-19 to health workers across Africa. More than 10 000 health workers in the 40 countries which have reported on such infections have been infected with COVID-19 so far, a sign of the challenges medical staff on the frontlines…

Reminder: WHO Africa Online Press Briefing on COVID-19 and health worker infections in Africa

Ask your questions to the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti

Please join an online media briefing with the World Health Organization (WHO) (https://www.afro.who.int/) Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, Ministers of Health of Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone and International Maternal Health & Midwifery Specialist from Ghana. The briefing is on-the-record and it is an opportunity for you to…

WHO Africa Online Press Briefing on health worker infections in Africa

Ask your questions to the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti

Please join an online media briefing with the World Health Organization (WHO) (afro.who.int) Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, and International Maternal Health & Midwifery Specialist, Dr. Jemima A. Dennis-Antwi. The briefing is on-the-record and it is an opportunity for you to ask questions about the COVID-19 and health worker…

Coronavirus - Africa: WHO urges greater COVID-19 health services in Africa’s humanitarian settings

WHO advises that activities like food distribution or education be adjusted to limit mass gatherings and strengthen infection prevention and control

The World Health Organization (WHO) today called for greater access to COVID-19 detection, testing and care among vulnerable populations grappling with the impacts of protracted conflict and humanitarian emergencies across Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over 26% of the world’s refugees. Long-running conflicts in regions like the Sahel have…

Coronavirus - Burkina Faso resumes Polio Vaccination Campaigns under strict COVID-19 prevention measures

The campaign is the first to be conducted since the government suspended all mass immunization on 27 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Burkina Faso today concluded a four-day mass polio immunization campaign, vaccinating 174 304 children under five years of age in two districts of the country’s Centre-East region, while observing COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. The campaign is the first to be conducted since the government suspended all mass immunization…

Coronavirus - Africa: WHO urges caution as countries in Africa ease lockdowns

Thirteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa implemented lockdowns along with other public health and social measures nation-wide, while ten more instigated partial lockdowns in hotspots

Three months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in sub-Saharan Africa, the region has made progress in tackling the virus. Many countries implemented lockdowns and key public health measures early and these appear to have helped slow down the spread of the disease. However, there are concerns that…