Mr. and Mrs. Kintu* are among the few medical personnel that contracted Ebola virus disease while in the line of duty in 2022. Fortunately, the timely and aggressive medical care that they received while admitted in the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) coupled with mutual support saved their lives.

Benguela, Angola, July 9, 2024 — The World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Katyavala Bwila (UKB) in Benguela celebrated a significant milestone today with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing health research, organising capacity-building health activities, and improving strategic decision-making through better information sharing.

Shafiq, a motorbike rider for over ten years, almost lost his life to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) just over a year ago. He used to go deep into villages to pick up and drop off passengers.

Since recovering from Ebola virus disease, his life has changed as he can no longer ride long distances. He feels tired most of the time, a common symptom that has been reported by many Ebola virus disease survivors.

WHO Sierra Leone boosted its results-based management (RBM) practice and is geared to be one of the leading countries in implementing results-based management (RBM) on practical ways to ensure a learning culture is deepened in WHO program management.  WHO Sierra Leone successfully conducted a planning workshop from July 2

In Amhara region, Ethiopia, where communities have long battled the harsh impacts of drought and disease outbreaks, a transformative initiative has taken root. It began with a coalition of global health partners—World Health Organization, European Commission Humanitarian Aid, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund —joining hands with local authorities to address a pressing issue: acute malnutrition among children.

Sierra Leone successfully completed a nationwide Measles and Rubella (MR) Supplementary Immunization campaign, achieving 99% coverage of the targeted population, according to administrative data. This campaign, which focused on children aged 9 to 59 months, resulted in the vaccination of 1,336,845 children. Notably, the campaign also identified and vaccinated 16,132 zero-dose children who had previously missed out on essential vaccinations. 

Angola faces a generalized Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic, with sexual transmission being key to its spread. According to the Demographic Health Indicators Survey (2015/16), the HIV prevalence rate in the general population 15-49 years is 2% and is higher amongst women. 

Poliovirus surveillance is one of the key pillars of the global poliovirus eradication effort. The primary system to detect poliovirus transmission is surveillance for polio cases among individuals with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), supplemented by environmental surveillance (ES).

In October 2008, Namibia was certified polio free and continued to maintain its polio free status since then. However, the country remains at high risk of importations of vaccine derived polio viruses (VDPVs) and other vaccine preventable diseases due to sub-optimal immunization coverage.

Juba, 5 July 2024 – Dr Humphrey Karamagi, the newly appointed World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for South Sudan, presented his letter of credentials to Hon. Ramadan Mohamed Abdallah Goc, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.