The United Republic of Tanzania has been vulnerable to several disease outbreaks for decades. Recently, the country has faced several public health emergencies including COVID-19, Leptospirosis, Marburg, Measles, and Cholera. The reported cases of Ebola Virus Disease in the neighbouring countries have constantly threatened the lives of thousands of people in the country requiring strict measures and mechanisms to halt cross-border transmissions.

 Hawassa: The World Health Organization, in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), and Africa CDC, has successfully trained 100 rapid responders to handle public health emergencies in Ethiopia and beyond. The month-long training consisted of four modules: Public Health Emergency Operating Center, Humanitarian and Health Cluster Coordination, Gender-Based Violence, and Rapid Response Teams.

Lira. Uganda has embarked on a national program to safeguard its at-risk population against the devastating impact of yellow fever through a comprehensive vaccination campaign. With the aim of eliminating yellow fever epidemics by 2026, this campaign represents a significant milestone in the country's effort towards this goal.

^{By Vivian Mugarisi}

Kagera – The declaration of the end of the Marburg outbreak in Tanzania was received with a sigh of relief and ripples of excitement from the north to south and east to west of the Kagera region, the epicenter of the Marburg outbreak and the whole of Tanzania. Although the effective management and timely containment of the virus prevented its overspill to other regions, the outbreak came with a sense of fear and panic in the country.

Bujumbura – Burundi’s health authorities today launched the country’s first national polio vaccination campaign since 2011, targeting nearly 3 million children under seven years of age following the first alerts of circulating poliovirus type 2 in more than three decades.

Abuja, 9 June, 2023 - The Chief of Staff to the United Nations Secretary-General (COS), Mr Earle Courtenay Rattray, has applauded Nigeria on impressive integrated health delivery services adopted by the country in delivering essential healthcare services to its citizens. 

Mr Rattray also appreciated the commitment of UN staff in serving the course of sustainable development and health security in Nigeria. 

In continued support to improve Botswana’s emergency preparedness and response plan, WHO is conducting Basic Emergency Care (BEC) training sessions across the country. Developed by WHO in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM), the training targets frontline health providers who manage acute life-threatening conditions with limited resources.

Two hundred kilometers from Uganda’s capital Kampala lies Bukakata sub-county in Masaka district. Located along the shores of Lake Victoria, the sub county is one of the areas that reported a case of yellow fever in 2022 through the sentinel surveillance system.