Sierra Leone is once again counting down the days until the latest flare-up of Ebola can be declared over. As part of the inter-agency response to the flare-up, dozens of people who were in contact with two individuals who had tested positive for Ebola were isolated and placed under medical observation. With the monitoring period now over, they are breathing a sigh of relief as their lives get back to normal.

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Juba, 17 February 2016 -  The Ministry of Health, and the WHO Country Office, concluded a one-day Consultative Meeting on the Boma Health Initiative (BHI), a strategy adopted by the MoH to strengthen community health systems and the 2016/2017 work plan.

The purpose of the meetings was to generate a common understanding of the WHO approved work plans for 2016/17 biennium, to explain the main deliverables of the WHO work plans for biennium and to agree on WHO strategy and plan of action for implementation of the BHI.

Pretoria, 17 February 2016 - The WHO Country Office in South Africa and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are making oral submissions to the Competition Commission's Market Inquiry into Private Healthcare on 17 February 2016 in Pretoria.

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Mbabane, 16 February 2016 - While endeavouring to achieve Universal Health Coverage, which is the goal of the newly formulated National Health Strategic Plan 2014-2018, the Ministry of Health has visited Ethiopia to learn about their best health practices.

Accra, 16 February 2016 – WHO has deployed a team of four members to work with the Ministry of Health in Ghana and Ghana Health Service to confirm through serotyping the bacterial type of meningitis causing the outbreak in the country. This follows reports of meningitis outbreak in a number of districts in Ghana with streptococcus pneumoniae being the bacteria identified in many cases.

Monrovia, Liberia, 15th February 2016 - Liberia continues to register progress in her efforts to respond to the health status of the Liberian population through building a resilient health system. A robust Health Emergency Risk Management System has been developed through building public health capacity for prevention, preparedness, alert and response for disease outbreaks and other threats.

Kampala, 15th February 2016:- “After this retreat I envision a Country Office that knows what is expected of us; we should be among the leading implementers of the Transformation Agenda by implementing the Key Performance Indicators to change the image of Africa,” said Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, the World Health Organization Representative in Uganda Country at the 3-day WHO Uganda 2016 staff retreat held at Munyonyo Speke Resort Hotel in Kampala.

Radio is an important tool for the rapid diffusion of important messages on health.  Regular live radio talk programmes have been successfully used in South Sudan.

The cholera outbreak in Tanzania started on the 15th of August 2015, and as of 20th January 2016, the country had reported more than 14,000 cases, including 222 deaths (representing 1.6% case fatality rate).

The current outbreak is unique because of its vast geographical spread within a short time while containment has proved to be an enormous challenge. It has so far affected 25 of the 28 administrative regions of the country and Zanzibar.

Brazzaville/Libreville, 12 February 2016 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti is in Libreville, Gabon, for a 5 day official visit and to participate in the 7th Conference of Health Ministers of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), which begins today.