News Releases

COVID-19 continues to spread in Africa since the virus was first detected on the continent in mid-February 2020. More than 200 000 cases have been confirmed so far, with over 5600 deaths. The pandemic is accelerating – it took 98 days to reach 100 000 cases and only 19 days to move to 200 000 cases.

New genetic sequence analysis by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) has found that the newly-identified Ebola virus circulating in the Equateur Province in western DRC is different from the one which has infected more than 3400 people in the eastern part of the country.

Mali and Sierra Leone have been selected as new members of the WHO Global Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights initiative (SRHR). The announcement was made at the end of May to the two countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Equatorial Guinea has informed the WHO Regional Office for Africa that its country head of office, Dr Triphonie Nkurunziza must leave Malabo as soon as possible. WHO finds the decision regrettable.

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 tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced today that a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease is occurring in Wangata health zone, Mbandaka, in Équateur province. The announcement comes as a long, difficult and complex Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is in its final phase, while the country also battles COVID-19 and the world’s largest measles outbreak.

Three months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in sub-Saharan Africa, the region has made progress in tackling the virus. Many countries implemented lockdowns and key public health measures early and these appear to have helped slow down the spread of the disease. However, there are concerns that if these measures are relaxed too quickly, COVID-19 cases could start increasing rapidly.

The COVID-19 pandemic today reached a milestone in Africa, with more than 100 000 confirmed cases. The virus has now spread to every country in the continent since the first case was confirmed in the region 14 weeks ago.

A community of African innovators is stepping up support to the continent’s fight against COVID-19 pandemic, collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop solutions to help contain the spread of the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today expressed concern at the potential impact of COVID-19 on food security, which is likely to exacerbate the already considerable burden of malnutrition in Africa. The impact of the disease is expected to be greater among those grappling with food scarcity and malnutrition, while widespread food insecurity will likely increase due to movement restrictions.