Oral health is the foundation of our lives: it enables us to eat, breathe, and speak. It is integral to general health, and supports individuals’ participation in society and achieving their potential.

In the African Region, the burdens of HIV, TB, viral hepatitis and STIs are still high. The regional action frameworks for the implementation of global sector strategies respectively for HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs and the End TB strategy adopted at the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Regional Committees have triggered progress in national responses. While considerable progress has been made as the action frameworks come to an end, the expected targets for 2020 have not been met due to many issues and challenges. The Regional Committee examined and adopted the proposed implementation framework.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a category of chronic, disabling, and at times disfiguring diseases and conditions that occur most commonly in the setting of extreme poverty. Historically, NTDs have received less attention and funding when compared to other diseases occurring in the same regions of the world.

This report is one of the first major products of the newly established Precision Public Health Metrics unit of the UCN cluster of the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The report presents national trends in communicable and non-communicable disease burden and control in the WHO AfricanRegion.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a category of chronic, disabling, and at times disfiguring diseases and conditions that occur most commonly in the setting of extreme poverty.

This brief update on tuberculosis (TB) TB in the WHO African Region, strategic priorities and targets and the impact of COVID-19 on essential services. This is followed by key figures for the region, the role of WHO in country support and, recognizing the importance of diagnosis and drug susceptibility testing, a focus on strengthening laboratory networks and the regional laboratory and diagnostic objectives.

This is the first progress report produced by the UCN Cluster, and was written to a template based on the the three core strategies of eradication, elimination and control.

In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the health system and routine immunization in the African Region, leading to a significant decline in immunization coverage. It is well known that routine immunization programmes rely on functioning health facilities and stable communities.