On 12 July 2014, a new hospital Kiir Mayardit Women’s Hospital was officially opened in Rumbek, Lakes State by his Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan as part of the Government initiative to improve maternal health services in the country.

Freetown, Sierra Leone, 11 July 2014 - The Kailahun District Health Management Team in collaboration with WHO, Red Cross, MSF, Metabiota and other partners has trained the last batch of 300 community volunteers in the district. The volunteers comprised of community health workers and Red Cross Volunteers selected across the communities in the 14 chiefdoms in Kailahun  District.

The volunteers were trained to identify and monitor Ebola signs and symptoms in persons that have had “contact” with Ebola patients.

Celestina Poni, a 29-year-old mother of five is glad to be alive, after suffering from a severe bout of cholera which she believes almost killed her.

“I never thought I would be alive, talking and laughing like this,” Celestina Poni confesses, adding that she appreciates the support that she received from the hospital. 

Celestina lives in an area called Lulubo, in Gumbo village, Juba County, in Central Equatoria State, which is among the areas affected by the current cholera outbreak in South Sudan.

Addis Ababa. 8 July 2014 – The World Health Organization awarded the Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives with a WHO Award for the House’s landmark contribution to tobacco control in Ethiopia by ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 21 January 2014. The Award was presented by Dr Pierre Mpele-Kilebou, WHO Representative to Ethiopia, on behalf of Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director General.

Brazzaville, 9 July 2014 – A three-day Regional Consultation on Medical Education and Training got underway today (Wednesday) in Brazzaville Congo. Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the meeting is discussing how the quality and relevance of medical education and training can be improved in the African Region.

WHO convened a three day meeting of countries and partners on achievement of universal access to sexual and reproductive Health (SRH) since the call made by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, involving 179 countries.  It defined critical actions for advancing sexual and reproductive health beyond 2014. The meeting took place on 8-10 July 2014, at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.

Dr Keiji Fukuda, the Assistant Director General (ADG) for Health Security from the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva arrived in Sierra Leone on 8 July 2014. The visit was part of WHO’s continued engagement with the government and partners in ending the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in the country. Dr Fukuda’s visit was also to reaffirm the Organization’s  continued commitment in coordinating and facilitating a speedy end of the outbreak.

Abuja, 08 July, 2014 - The Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program started in 1998 with the primary aim to strengthen acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, support national immunization days, and conduct polio case investigation and follow-up. These activities remain today but the program has grown to include strengthening routine immunization, measles mortality reduction, supportive supervision, and strengthening the Integrated Disease Surveillance program.

Kampala, 8th July 2014:- Uganda released preliminary results of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) indicating that, 1.3 million people aged 15 years and above currently use tobacco products.

In rural Ethiopia, people who suffer from mental, neurological and substance use disorders have very limited access to care as mental health services are mainly centralized around Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa. However, things are changing slowly but surely.