Eswatini News

The World Health Organization (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Swaziland Animal Welfare Society collaborated with the Government of Eswatini in commemorating the World Rabies Day 2019. The Ministry of Agriculture through the Veterinary Department together with the Ministry of Health, Eswatini Royal Police, other government sectors and the Malindza community in the Lubombo region held a community event to mark the World Rabies Day. The event included a march in the community, speeches and edutainment.

The Kingdom of Eswatini joined the rest of the world in commemorating the first ever World Patient Safety Day on 17 September 2019. The theme for this year’s celebration was "Patient Safety: a global health priority.", “Lets speak up for patient safety!”. The theme calls for promotion of open communication for learning from errors and to emphasise the importance of patient safety, as well as increasing the voice of the patient.

The Kingdom of Eswatini is getting closer to ending intestinal worms as a public health problem in line with the World Health Organization’s 2020 Roadmap on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). The country reached an impressive 98% of eligible school aged children with medicines for intestinal worms in the fourth round of Mass Medicine Administration (MMA) campaign conducted recently. 

Students as voluntary unpaid donors remain the main source of safe blood and blood products in the Kingdom of Eswatini. This was revealed during the World Blood Donor Day commemoration held on 14 June in Manzini. The theme for this year’s commemoration was “Safe blood for all”. The event recognised the noble gesture by regular blood donors in ensuring timely availability of sufficient and safe quantities of blood and blood products for the nation.

The Kingdom of Eswatini hosted the 22nd Inter-Country Certification Committee meeting (ICCC) from 11 to 13 June 2019 at Happy Valley Hotel in Ezulwini. The meeting was attended by representatives from Botswana, Lesotho Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini and members of the Africa Region Certification Committee (ARCC). The meeting launched in 2002 allows countries to support one another to ensure that Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategy is implemented and progress fully documented.  

His Majesty King Mswati III, who is the current chairperson for the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) launched the End Malaria Fund for the Kingdom of Eswatini. This initiative is aimed at mobilising sustainable domestic resources for malaria elimination in the Kingdom, the region and the entire African continent.

The Kingdom of Eswatini honoured individuals and institutions, referred to as immunisation heroes  who  have immensely contributed towards strengthening the national Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) during the launch of the African Vaccination week in Kwaluseni, a surburb  in Manzini in  Eswatini.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to the Kingdom of Eswatini Dr Cornelia Atsyor presented her credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Honourable Thuli Dladla.

The World Health Organization Eswatini Country Office Staff Association donated items including water purifiers and clothes to the people of Mozambique affected by tropical Cyclone Idai. Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall during the night of 14 to 15 March 2019 killing more than 1,000 people and leaving 400,000 homeless near the port city of Beira. The resulting floods have since led to outbreak of waterborne diseases like cholera hence the need for water purifiers to ensure access to clean water under the prevailing circumstances.

The Kingdom of Eswatini has intensified its focus on promoting health and wellness towards “Universal Health Coverage, everyone, everywhere”, leaving no one behind. 

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN family and other partners provided disease prevention and screening services to the people of Eswatini to mark the commemoration of the World Health Day 2019.  The services were provided free of charge in the form of a health market on 6 April at the Prince of Wales Stadium in Mbabane.