Ethiopia launched emergency measles vaccination campaign on Friday April 22, 2016 targeting over 500 drought affected hot spot woredas in 10 regions (except AA) which includes Gambella; Benishangul Gumuz, Oromia, Amhara, SNNPR, Tigray, Afar, Somali, Dire Dawa and Harari.

Monrovia, 26th April 2016 - Liberia joined the rest of the world in celebrating the World Malaria Day on 25th April under the theme “End malaria for good” with a country slogan “pregnant women go to the clinic for malaria medicine’. This year’s theme reflects the vision of a malaria-free world set out in the “Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030”. The commemoration was integrated with the regional launch of the 6th African Vaccination Week in Ganta, Nimba County.

The Ministry of Health, with support from partners launched the house to house polio National Immunization Days (NIDs) on Friday, 22nd of April, 2016 to vaccinate under five (0 – 59 months of age) children at national level. More than two years have passed since the onset of paralysis of the last case of WPV in January 05, 2014 and Ethiopia is currently polio free and this continued effort is to re-enforce country’s polio free status.

Abuja, 25 April 2016 - Given the dire need for quality and sustainable health care in the IDP camps and hosting communities for children under five years, the Federal and State Ministries of Health, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SPHCDA) and partners including the World Health Organization (WHO) agreed to build capacity of community resource persons living in the IDPs camps and host communities, with the support from USAID/Nigeria grant. 

The World Health Organization Country Representative in Tanzania, Dr Rufaro Chatora, has just completed a multi-purpose mission which included observation, assessment and support of the cholera outbreak response in Zanzibar.  WHO has been concerned about the persistence of the outbreak in Zanzibar, and hence Dr Chatora’s mission also to strengthening the on-going interventions through high level advocacy so as to bring the outbreak into immediate control.

01. At the Chumbuni Cholera Treatment Centre, Dr Chatora is briefed on the structure, resources, and functioning of the center

02. The center's staff is observed as it manages a patient in line with the case management protocols

03. Listening to the community on the social mobilisation activities being undertaken to raise the level of cholera awareness, personnal hygiene, treatment seeking practises, etc

04. Walking in the community to see the environmental conditions and their contribution to the persistance transmission and of the outbreak

Banjul, 25 April 2016 - After intensive preparations, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF and other partners has officially launched the much awaited seven-day nationwide measles –rubella vaccination, which ends on Monday, 1st May 2016.

The campaign, which is integrated with vitamin A supplementation and de-worming, is the first of its kind conducted in the Gambia as echoed by WHO and MoHSW officials at a recent press briefing held be-fore the official launch.

Monrovia 23rd April - The Ministry of Health Liberia embraced the move to switch from the use of trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine bOPV in its routine immunization schedule. This initiative to withdraw type 2 component of tOPV is part of the global polio eradication endgame strategy for 2013-2018.

All of Liberia’s 15 counties successfully implemented the national SWITCH day on April, 22nd, 2016. This historical milestone comes three days before the regional launch of the African Vaccination Week in Ganta, Nimba County on 25th April.