Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Southern Africa faces acute surge in cholera due to floods, displacement

Southern Africa is experiencing an active cyclone season which usually runs from January to April. Above-average rains continue in cyclone-prone areas

Cholera cases in Southern Africa region have risen by over seven times in the first six weeks of 2026 compared with the same period the year before due to severe flooding triggered by cyclones, infrastructure damage and inadequate water and sanitation among displaced populations, an analysis by World Health Organization (WHO)…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Newly released 2025 scorecard unveils progress and setbacks on health and gender equality across Southern Africa

First developed in 2019, the scorecard serves as a social accountability tool and uses a "traffic light" system to track 20 indicators

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has launched its biennial scorecard, a critical tool that tracks progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across its 16 Member States. New data, including from demographic health surveys, shows great strides in improving the sexual and reproductive health of people across the…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

World Health Organization (WHO) convenes global experts in Brazzaville to strengthen clinical care for filovirus diseases

The continent bears the heaviest burden of FVD outbreaks, with increasing frequency in recent years

As outbreaks of Filovirus Disease (FVD) continue to regularly affect countries across Africa and in efforts to increase preparedness capacities, the World Health Organization (WHO) with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has convened 50 clinicians, researchers and public health specialists globally and partners for a five-day Filovirus Disease Optimized Supportive Care…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

World Health Organization (WHO) and East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) strengthen regional health cooperation through Memorandum of Understanding

Through this partnership, WHO AFRO and ECSA-HC will collaborate across a broad range of strategic areas, including primary health care strengthening, disease prevention and control

Today World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) and the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in advancing health outcomes and resilient health systems across the East, Central and Southern African region. The MoU establishes a structured…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Africa sets course for affordable, quality medicines with new 10-year roadmap

This strategy represents a paradigm shift from Africa’s current fragmented and donor-dependent health product landscape to a coordinated, self-reliant system

African leaders and global partners have agreed on a bold 10-year regional vision to redesign how essential health products are financed, produced, and delivered, marking a major step toward ensuring that everyone in the African Region can access affordable, quality-assured medicines and health technologies. Meeting at the Blue-Sky Visioning and…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Countries, experts agree on 10-year Africa health workforce agenda

WHO called on all partners to sustain investment and political momentum to ensure the successful rollout of the agenda once it is endorsed and launched next year

African countries have reached consensus on the priority actions, commitments and milestones that will shape the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035 in a major step towards transforming how the continent plans, trains and retains its health workforce.  Member States, professional councils, universities, development partners and technical experts gathering in Pretoria…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Last Ebola patient in Democratic Republic of the Congo discharged

WHO deployed multidisciplinary teams to strengthen surveillance, clinical care, infection prevention and control, logistics, community engagement and other key response measures

The last Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was discharged today, marking an important milestone in the efforts to end the outbreak. The recovery kicks off a 42-day countdown to declaring the outbreak over if no further cases are confirmed. A total of 19 patients have recovered…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Cameroon: A beacon of hope for adolescents and young people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

The future of the HIV response in Cameroon depends on synergy between institutional, community, and international actors

At 14, Eugène learned he was HIV-positive. The diagnosis turned his adolescence upside down, marked by doubt, fear, and stigma. “At that age, you don’t understand everything, but you feel different. I was afraid of how others would see me, afraid of the future,” he confides. Now 20, he is…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Water supply system transforming life beyond the Ebola response in Democratic Republic of the Congo

A dual-flow mechanism delivers chlorinated water for clinical use and untreated water for household needs, ensuring both infection control and everyday supply

For years, the 20 000 residents of Bulape have lived with a harsh reality: to fetch water, they had to walk several kilometres through the forest, often at dawn or dusk, to reach stagnant and unsafe pools. “The water was often dirty, but we had no choice,” recalls Henriette Byongo, a…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Ebola: Congo on Alert to Contain the Risk

Aware of the risks posed by this serious and highly contagious disease, the Congolese government, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), has taken urgent measures to anticipate and prevent any importation of the virus

As the Ebola outbreak resurfaces in the Kasaï province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), neighboring Republic of Congo is mobilizing in response to the health threat. Every day, boats cross the Congo River, connecting communities on both sides and transporting hundreds of passengers. This geographical proximity, combined with…