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

African health ministers, delegates adopt declaration on climate change and health

Enhancing policy and decision-making is also crucial by integrating climate change considerations into national health policies and strategies to ensure that health is prioritized in climate action plans

Health ministers and delegates from 20 African countries today adopted a landmark declaration to enhance climate resilience within health systems and address the profound health impacts of climate change on the continent. The Harare Declaration, endorsed during the first Climate and Health Africa Conference (CHAC), calls for immediate and collaborative…

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

Tackling health impacts of plastic pollution in Africa

World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have collaborated to galvanize national efforts to reduce environmental threats to health

Every year more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally and an estimated 19–23 million tons end up in lakes, rivers and seas. However, less than 10% of the world’s annual plastic production is recycled. In Africa, which produces only 5% and consumes 4% of global plastic, growing…

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

Launch of a Regional Initiative to Tackle Climate Change-related Health Challenges for Africa

The participating countries will strengthen multisectoral collaboration and coordination among relevant sectors to enhance the implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures aimed at reducing climate-related health risks

At the Seventy-sixthWorld Health Assembly, African governments represented by Ministers of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (WHO) and Amref Health Africa have launched a regional initiative to tackle health impacts of climate change in Africa. This is an effort to harness the…

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

Cyclone Freddy deepens health risks in worst-hit countries

In Malawi and Mozambique the cyclone tore through amid cholera outbreaks

The devastation by Tropical Cyclone Freddy is exposing major health risks in the hardest-hit southern Africa countries where emergency response efforts are being ramped up to provide relief to affected communities. More than 300 health facilities have been destroyed or flooded in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique following the devastation by…

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

The greater Horn of Africa’s climate-related health crisis worsens as disease outbreaks surge

In most countries of the region, measles vaccination coverage is too low to prevent cases and all greater Horn of Africa countries have had to deal with measles outbreaks in 2022

New analysis by World Health Organization (WHO) has found that the number of reported disease outbreaks and climate-related health emergencies in the greater Horn Africa have reached their highest-ever level this century, deepening a health crisis in a region where 47 million people are already facing acute hunger. Most parts…

WHO Regional Office for Africa

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    • Nurse Peace (right) counsels a patient before she gets screened for cervical cancer at the RAiSE Foundation office in Niger State on 24 February 2021
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Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Deaths from noncommunicable diseases on the rise in Africa

The rising burden of noncommunicable diseases will exert pressure on treatment and care services

Noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are increasingly becoming the main cause of mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, where the diseases were responsible for 37% of deaths in 2019, rising from 24% in 2000 largely due to weaknesses in the implementation of critical control measures including prevention, diagnosis…

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

Stronger Governance Needed to Fight Superbugs in Africa: Antimicrobial Resistance threatens Africa’s Development

Addressing AMR requires an holistic and multi-sectoral approach

The leaders of six regional organizations in Africa are calling for stronger governance to fight antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, on the eve of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18-24 November). The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in Africa – where micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are resistant…

WHO Regional Office for Africa

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    • Engr Hassan Musa, Parmananent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment at the UN Day symposium
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Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

UN Reaffirms Commitment to Ensuring Peace and Prosperity for all in Nigeria

Due to the pandemic, millions of Nigerians have been devastatingly affected through the loss of lives and livelihoods

The United Nations System in Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring peace and prosperity for all in Nigeria. This commitment was made by Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator (Ad Interim) during a symposium to commemorate the 2021 UN…

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

Coronavirus: Social, environmental factors seen behind Africa’s low COVID-19 cases

Deaths attributed to COVID-19 have also remained low in the region

COVID-19 transmission in Africa has been marked by relatively fewer infections, which have been on the decline over the past two months, owing to a variety of socio-ecological factors as well as early and strong public health measures taken by governments across the region. The pandemic has largely been in…

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

Coronavirus - Mauritius: Promoting and Protecting Breastfeeding for a better start in Life

The country aims at creating awareness among young people on the importance of breast feeding and its positive contribution to a healthier planet

Mauritius marked World Breastfeeding Week 2020 by an official ceremony performed by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Hon. Kailash Jagutpal on 06 August 2020 at the Victoria Hospital, Candos. In line with this year’s theme, the country aims at creating awareness among young people on the importance of breast…