Kampala, 11th March 2015 - The National Debrief Meeting on integrated Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Surveillance, Post Introduction Evaluation and Immunization review took place at Hotel Africana, in Kampala. This followed meetings and field visits held for the last two weeks to develop a new comprehensive Multi-year Strategic Plan (cMYP) for Uganda.

The Office of the WHO Representative in collaboration with the British High Commission, on Wednesday, the 11th March 2015, handed over medical supplies and equipment for Ebola Preparedness and Response to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOH&SW).

11 March 2015 - In February 2015, cases of Ebola began appearing among the community of fishermen living in the coastal area of Aberdeen in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Over 20 cases occurred at the same time, suggesting they had been infected by one source, possibly an unsafe burial. WHO and partners immediately sent teams into the district to work with the community to identify all Ebola cases and those who had been in contact with them, to prevent further infections.

Abuja, 10 March 2015 - In Rivers, one of the two States in Nigeria that recorded an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and successfully contained it in August 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) team is using the open data kit platform at the Ebola Emergency Operation Center’s server for enhanced acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance for polio as well as integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) reporting.

Brazzaville, 6 March 2015 – In efforts to prevent vaccine preventable diseases, health experts concluded a four-day meeting from 2 to 5 March that aimed to ensure that every child in the African Region has access to life-saving vaccines.

Geneva, 5 March 2015 -- Based on promising data from initial clinical trials in late 2014, WHO with the Health Ministry of Guinea, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Epicentre and The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), will launch a Phase III trial in Guinea on 7 March to test the VSV-EBOV vaccine for efficacy and effectiveness to prevent Ebola. The vaccine was developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. A second vaccine will be tested in a sequential study, as supply becomes available.

Africa is long known for high rates of hunger, undernutrition and infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS but a disturbing new threat of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) associated with overweight, obesity and diet-related NCDs is emerging in many countries.

Accra, 4 March 2015 - Every year, 16 000 new cancer cases are reported in Ghana, adding to an existing burden of cancer cases, of which an estimated 2260 are breast cancer cases. In Ghana as in most developing countries, the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing rapidly, particularly cardiovascular related diseases and cancers.

Brazzaville /Lilongwe, 3 March 2015 – The WHO Regional Office for Africa is intensifying country support to prevent cholera from reaching internally displaced person (IDP) camps along the border of Malawi and Mozambique. Since January 2015, extensive flooding has caused 230 000 IDPs to live in opportune refugee camps and temporary shelters.

WHO and partners conduct Ebola assessments in 14 high risk countries in Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners conducted Ebola Virus Disease preparedness assessments in 14 countries in the African region in 2014. The assessment team visited Ethiopia 2-8 December 2014 to explore what systems were in place and what areas of preparedness could be strengthened.