For Michael Akok, a 28-year-old fourth year university student, being diagnosed with viral hepatitis was a devastating blow. He had silently endured life-threatening pain, unaware of his condition until a medical test revealed the truth.

Addis Ababa –World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters, in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) and the WHO Ethiopia country office, concluded a three-day meeting focused on sustainable financing mechanisms for tobacco control.

Held from 10 to 12 June 2024, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the meeting gathered representatives from various member states to discuss innovative ways to finance tobacco control policies.

After graduating from medical school in 2012, Fadário had a dream: to help get as many Angolan children vaccinated as possible, to reduce vaccine-preventable deaths.  

Sierra Leone makes progress towards elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) 

Moroto-Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO, Malteser International, and Hiroshima University deployed the national Emergency Medical team (nEMT) to provide critical support in responding to a measles outbreak in Moroto district, Karamoja region, northeastern Uganda.

Botswana recognizes the global threat posed by pandemics caused by respiratory viruses, which recur unpredictably and pose significant risks to health, society, and economies. As part of the WHO Africa Region (AFRO), Botswana remains vulnerable to epidemic- and pandemic-prone diseases, including acute viral respiratory pathogens and influenza viruses. The COVID-19 and A(H1N1) pandemics underscored the severe threat posed by respiratory pathogens, exposing critical gaps in preparedness both globally and in Botswana.

The World Health Organization (WHO) plays a pivotal role in supporting countries in strengthening their regulatory systems, and promoting equitable access to quality, safe, efficacious, affordable medical products, and health products. WHO mandated by Resolution WHA 67.20, supports countries to strengthen regulatory systems by building regulatory capacity in member states consistent with good regulatory practices and promoting regulatory cooperation, convergence and transparency through networking, work-sharing, and reliance.

In 2022, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) developed the National Quality Policy and Strategy (NQPS) and the National Healthcare facilities Quality Standards (HQS) to strengthen healthcare service quality in support of its overarching vision and mission. The objective of the Hospital Quality Standards (HQS) in Namibia is to enhance the quality and safety of healthcare services, ensuring consistent, effective, and patient-centered care delivery across all hospitals to improve overall health outcomes.

Health Development Partners (HDP) in Uganda bid farewell to Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, whose six-year tour of duty as WHO Representative to Uganda comes to an end this month.