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…

Enhancing polio detection with advanced sequencing technology

This year alone, 290 poliovirus detections have been reported in 23 African countries

The African region, declared free of indigenous wild poliovirus in August 2020, faces an urgent threat: the intense transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2). This year alone, 290 poliovirus detections have been reported in 23 African countries. As countries ramp up vaccination efforts to protect children against the virus, one…

WHO announces first technology recipients of mRNA vaccine hub with strong support from African and European partners

Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia to establish mRNA vaccine production

At the European Union - African Union summit in Brussels today WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the first six countries that will receive the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines on the African continent. Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia all applied and have been selected…

WHO Unveils New Analytical Tools on the ESPEN Data Portal

The ESPEN Data Portal has expanded to include a comprehensive suite of data dashboards designed to help Neglected Tropical Diseases programmes better track rollout

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, through the Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), is making available new analytical tools in the NTD Data Portal allowing Neglected Tropical Diseases programmes and stakeholders to better track rollout and impact of interventions, and make data-driven decisions on…

Coronavirus: WHO Ghana Supports Ongoing COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout with Digital Tablets

The digital tablets are anticipated to be useful for data capturing in other health interventions beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

The World Health Organization has reiterated its commitment to helping the Government of Ghana achieve its set target for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout by presenting 1,000 pieces of digital tablets to support the ongoing vaccination campaign. Presenting the items to the Ghana Health Service, Dr Sally-Ann Ohene, Disease Prevention and…

Coronavirus - Nigeria: Community informants employ mobile data collection tools to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance

WHO is supporting engagement of more than 670 Auto-Visual Acute Flaccid Paralysis Detection and Reporting (AVADAR) informants to conduct house-to-house COVID-19 surveillance

With the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, WHO is supporting government to leverage on the existing  Auto-Visual Acute Flaccid Paralysis Detection and Reporting (AVADAR) system to strengthen community-based surveillance for the disease. In 731 wards across eleven (11) COVID-19 high risk states, WHO is supporting engagement of more…

Coronavirus - Zimbabwe: Enhancing capacity for laboratory diagnosis for COVID-19 at Beitbridge District Hospital

Beitbridge laboratory personnel recently received the Abbott platform

When WHO, National Microbiology Reference Laboratory (NMRL) and Medsure Healthcare teams reached Beitbridge, 640km from Harare, twelve laboratory personnel from Beitbridge Hospital had already tested more than 6000 samples for COVID-19. The tests were done using a GeneXpert machine with cartridges for COVID-19 testing and Real Time- Polymerase chain reaction…

Coronavirus - Africa: Assistance from World Health Organization (WHO) Polio Eradication Programme and Partner Organizations to tackle COVID-19

A network of responders from the World Health Organization (WHO) Polio Eradication Programme & partner organizations are bringing their expertise, technology & critical resources to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Polio immunization campaigns will resume once the situation permits.

Coronavirus - Africa: Polio eradication expertise backs Africa’s COVID-19 response

A quarter of World Health Organization (WHO) polio staff are dedicating more than 80% of their time towards COVID-19 efforts

Expertise in polio eradication that has put Africa on the verge of being certified free of wild poliovirus has been brought to the frontlines of COVID-19 fight. A network of responders from the World Health Organization (WHO) Polio Eradication Programme and partner organizations is providing critical resources and skills to…

Coronavirus: African innovators join the fight against COVID-19

All over the African Region, local innovators have moved decisively to address critical gaps in the response to the pandemic

On an overcast morning on the outskirts of the Kenyan city of Kisumu, which perches on the edge of Lake Victoria, a queue of commuters receives a spritz of hand sanitizer before boarding a minibus taxi, known locally as a matatu, to head into town. As soon as they’ve taken their…