Juba, 23 June 2015: The Minister of Health in the Republic of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Gai Kok has declared an outbreak of cholera in Juba County, South Sudan.

Addressing a press conference in Juba, where he made the declaration, Dr. Kok said on 1 June 2015, a cholera case was confirmed in UN House Protection of Civilians (PoC) site after Vibrio cholerae inaba was isolated from a stool sample. This was followed by subsequent cases.

Brazzaville, 23 June 2015 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, will be in Mauritius from 24-26 June 2015 to address the Fifth meeting of African Ministers of Health of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS).

The meeting, which will be attended by Health Ministers from Cape Verde, Comoros, Seychelles, Sao Tome & Principe, Mauritius and other public health experts is aimed at reviewing progress made during the past few years and agreeing on concrete actions to improve the health of people in each of these countries.

The World Health Organization lauds the initiative of the Government of the United States of America to strengthen their partnership with the Government of Ethiopia towards enhanced implementation of the International Health Regulation (IHR) side by side with achieving the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA).

A meeting between the Government of Ethiopia and the US Government regarding the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) was held on 17 June 2015. 

Brazzaville, 23 June 2015 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, will be in Mauritius from 24-26 June 2015 to address the Fifth meeting of African Ministers of Health of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS).
The meeting, which will be attended by Health Ministers from Cape Verde, Comoros, Seychelles, Sao Tome & Principe, Mauritius and other public health experts is aimed at reviewing progress made during the past few years and agreeing on concrete actions to improve the health of people in each of these countries.

Abuja, 22 June 2015 - The World Health Organization (WHO) in Nigeria has successfully concluded two separate workshops in Abuja from 15-20 June, 2015. The workshops addressed different themes aimed at building capacity towards supporting the country in its drive to provide the required human resources for the attainment of the highest level of health by all Nigerians; and to document best practices that are contributing towards the goal of achieving interruption of polio transmission in Nigeria.

Over a month has passed since Ebola transmission ceased in Liberia. This hard-fought achievement is still being celebrated across the country, where nearly 11,000 people became infected with the virus and 4,800 died. Liberia is still urging communities not to let their guard down until Ebola is gone from the region. They are working closely with WHO and other partners to keep Ebola from re-emerging.

Accra,  19 June 2015 - In response to heavy rains and flooding, the World Health Organization has donated about 5 tons of essential medical supplies to treat severe and moderate cases of diarrhoea and cholera worth nearly US$100,000 to the Ministry of Health. The consignment consists of three Interagency Diarrhoeal Disease Kits containing enough medicines and equipment such as oral rehydration salts (ORS), intravenous fluids and medical equipment to treat over 2,000 episodes of severe and moderate diarrhoea.

Kigoma, 18 June 2015 – The cholera risk remains high in villages around entry points for asylum seekers in Kigoma region, Western Tanzania. The daily influx of asylum seekers has caused the population in the Nyarugusu camp in Tanzania to swell to over 55 500.

Since the start of the outbreak on 10 May 2015, 4662 suspected/confirmed cholera cases and 34 deaths have been reported. Among these are 129 cases and 3 deaths among Tanzanians, mainly in Kagunga village, Kigoma urban and Karago village.

The vast, forbidding landscapes of Namibia and the traditional nature of many of its tribal groups contribute to high rates of maternal and infant mortality. The country’s under-five mortality rate of 54 per 1000 live births is nearly twice the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 target and the maternal mortality ratio of 385 per 100 000 live births is over six times and the MDG 5 target.

Ndapewa lay awake, listening to the sounds of the night: the leaves of the mopane trees rustling in the light breeze; in the distance, a donkey braying; and in her hut, her husband’s light snoring, and the fast, shallow breathing of her child, Ndakolo.