We use cookies to improve your experience. By your continued use of this site you accept such use.
WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Sustaining efforts to end mpox outbreaks in Africa

Mpox remains a serious public health challenge in Africa. In the past year, 28 African countries have been affected, with more than 174 000 suspected and nearly 50 000 confirmed cases reported

One year since World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), African countries have scaled up response measures and made progress to curb the spread of the virus. Coordinated action between governments, WHO, Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), communities and…

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

Improving access to maternal health care in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, improving access to obstetric care is a major strategic focus in the efforts to curb maternal mortality

"During my first pregnancy three years ago, I had to travel 45 km just to have get an ultrasound. I had to pay for transport, wait for an appointment and sometimes even go to a private clinic and pay 10 000 CFA francs. Between the cost of transport and the…

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

Africa speaks out: World Health Organization (WHO) consultations bring urgency and hope to health worker migration crisis

From Praia to Port Louis, governments and health professionals are sounding the alarm: Africa is losing too many of its trained health workers to international migration

When health experts across the WHO African region, logged into the virtual WHO consultation on 30 July 2025, they knew the stakes were high. Across the continent, hospitals are losing nurses to overseas recruiters, clinics are short-staffed, and young medical graduates face the dilemma of staying to serve or leaving…

WHO Regional Office for Africa

  • Multimedia content

  • Images (1)
    • Advancing access to sexual and reproductive health services in South Sudan
  • All (1)
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Advancing access to sexual and reproductive health services in South Sudan

Health authorities, with support from WHO and partners, have focused on expanding access to care that responds to people’s needs, choices and rights, through resilient primary health systems

In an effort to address severely limited access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services in South Sudan, the Ministry of Health, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, has been implementing several initiatives to expand access in seven of its 10 states.  Years of overlapping…

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

Sierra Leone moves closer to Universal Health Coverage with high-level engagement on draft Sierra Leone Agency for Universal Health Coverage (SLAUHC) Bill

Less than 1% of Sierra Leone’s population is covered by any social health protection scheme, exposing many to catastrophic health spending and pushing households further into poverty

Sierra Leone has taken a critical step toward advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with the convening of a high-level policy dialogue on the draft Sierra Leone Agency for Universal Health Coverage (SLAUHC) Bill. Organized on 6 May 2025 by the Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization…

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

Zimbabwe undertakes second Joint External Evaluation to strengthen National Health Security

The JEE is a voluntary, collaborative process used globally to assess a country's readiness to manage infectious disease outbreaks and other health emergencies

From 29 June to 4 July 2025, Zimbabwe conducted its second Joint External Evaluation (JEE) to assess the country’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats under the International Health Regulations (2005). The JEE, coordinated by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) with support from…

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

Mobile clinics enhance access to health care services in Niger

Around 16 000 women were sensitized by community outreach teams on reproductive, maternal and neonatal health in the two districts

In Niger, West Africa’s largest country by land surface, access to health care services is a major challenge. Just one in two people has access to health services. One of the ways to bridge the gap is through mobile clinics in remote areas and deploying medical teams from health districts…

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

Community support boosts Angola’s cholera response

The Ministry of Health in Angola, with support from World Health Organization (WHO), has trained more than 8000 community mobilizers to support the response and around 4450 community leaders in early detection, oral rehydration solution preparation and household water treatment

In the heart of Boa Vista, a neighbourhood in Angola’s capital, Luanda, 48-year-old mother of three Maria Teresa da Silva is joining other community members to spread awareness of the ongoing cholera outbreak. When the first cases were reported in her community in mid-January 2025, she joined a group of…

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

Professor Mohamed Yakub Janabi appointed World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa

Professor Janabi expressed gratitude and pledged to intensify efforts to improve the health of the people of the African Region

The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board today appointed Professor Mohamed Yakub Janabi as Regional Director of WHO African Region following his nomination during a Special Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa held on 18 May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. “I offer my warm congratulations to Professor Mohamed…

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

Professor Mohamed Yakub Janabi of Tanzania nominated as next director of World Health Organization (WHO) African Region

Professor Janabi’s nomination will be submitted for appointment by the 157th session of the WHO Executive Board, which takes place from 28 to 29 May 2025 in Geneva

Professor Mohamed Yakub Janabi was today nominated as the next Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region during a Special Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa held in Geneva ahead of the World Health Assembly. The Special Session by Member States of the WHO African…