In a bold step toward strengthening public health, Botswana has developed its National Immunization Strategy (NIS) for 2025–2030. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Health's Child Health Division Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) Unit, with critical support from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and key stakeholders. The strategy aims to ensure robust protection against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) throughout the life course in alignment with regional and global immunization priorities, such as the Immunization Agenda 2030.

Masvingo - From 14 to 21 October 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) supported a mass drug administration (MDA) campaign in Zimbabwe aimed at combating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), specifically schistosomiasis (bilharzia) and soil-transmitted helminths (intestinal worms). This initiative successfully reached 1,306,043 individuals with treatment for schistosomiasis and 1,054,558 for intestinal worms, primarily targeting children under the age of 15 living in vulnerable communities.

Kampala. The World Health Organization Africa Regional Office (AFRO) has convened a four-day cross-border meeting of health experts and partners from the Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda to discuss the ongoing outbreaks of mpox, Marburg and other public health threats with potential for international spread.

Harare – In a significant step towards strengthening its public health infrastructure, Zimbabwe established a dedicated laboratory for the analysis of polio samples collected through environmental surveillance (ES). Previously, these samples were sent to South Africa for testing, resulting in a turnaround time of approximately 21 days.

Kinshasa – Sophie Lipanda, a disease prevention and control veteran in Kinshasa, has dedicated over 10 years working in risk communication and community engagement (RCCE). When the mpox outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this year, she immediately joined efforts to inform and protect her community.

Dodoma: The World Health Organization (WHO) convened key stakeholders and implementing actors in Tanzania’s public health agenda to review the joint work plan for 2024/2025, a strategic blueprint aimed at realizing the ambitious Health for All agenda in the country.

In the Simiyu region of Tanzania, the resurgence of Cholera outbreaks posed a dire threat to public health. Since January 2024, the region has reported 1691 of Cholera cases, thus 28.7% of all cases reported in the country. With a new wave that started in August, 338 cases and 5 deaths were recorded, averaging daily new cases in the double digits.

Abuja, 20 October, 2024 - In a bold step towards combating the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Federal Government of Nigeria has launched the Second National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR 2.0).

This milestone  aligns with the political declaration endorsed in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting (UNGA-HLM), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s health sector renewal initiative, and Nigeria’s commitment to global health security.

Kampala, 18 October 2024 – Health Authorities in Uganda have committed to invest in Community Health Workers (CHEWs) to advance health systems in the country. This emerged from the three-day discussion at the third Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and other partners.  The conference was held in Kampala from October 16 to 18, 2024.

Kampala, Uganda – The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) has conducted a five-day capacity-building workshop in Uganda from 14-18 October 2024 to empower 40 representatives from government, civil society, and academia from Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, and Uganda. The goal was to enhance efforts in implementing policies that promote healthier diets and physical activity to prevent obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).