In 2011, the WHO Country Office embarked on a programme to strengthen disease surveillance activities in the country through donation of vehicles. A total of 6 provinces (Copperbelt, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, Southern and Western Provinces) each received a vehicle for disease surveillance activities.

On February 10th, 2012, the WHO Country Office donated a Nissan Hard Body to the Central Province Medical Office in Kabwe. Central Province has a total of six districts namely, Kabwe, Chibombo, Kapiri Mposhi, Serenje, Mumbwa and Mkushi with a population of 1,300,000. 

Brazzaville, 10 February 2012 – The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, on Friday (10 February) called on the Brazzaville-based diplomatic community to advocate with their national governments for more investments in health.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations Foundation undertook a joint mission to Sierra Leone as part of the measles partnership advocacy. The objectives of the mission were to raise awareness among local authorities and partners on the Measles Initiative and the current challenges for achieving the measles pre-elimination goal in Africa by 2012, assess preparedness for the campaign and make recommendations for acceleration of activities and support local resource mobilization to finance part of the operational costs of the campaign.

Nairobi Kenya, 04 February 2012 -- Kenya joined the rest of the world in marking this year’s World Cancer Day under the global theme “together it is possible”. The national event held at Kangemi health centre in Nairobi was presided over by the representative of the Minister for Public Health and Sanitation, Dr Willis Akhwale, head of Disease Prevention and Control (DPC) programme.

Brazzaville, 4 February 2012 -- Adopting healthy life styles such as consumption of diets high in fruits and vegetables, avoiding tobacco use, as well as engaging in regular physical activity are essential to preventing or reducing the risk of cancer.

A team of international financial management and health technical experts of the Joint Funding Platform completed a one week scoping mission in Sierra Leone. The team comprised of experts from GAVI, Global Fund World Bank and WHO. The mission was conducted under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and facilitated by different levels of WHO.

The Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control (DPC) in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) held its 4th quarter 2011 disease surveillance review meeting from 20-21 January 2012. The meeting examined the status of surveillance activities in the country for the period under review and set agenda for the first quarter of 2012.

In this Issue

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation launched a partnership for safe medicines initiative on 17 January 2012. The initiative is aimed at ensuring quality, effica-cy and safety of all medicines and promotion of rational use of medicines among healthcare providers and patients.

Banjul, 17 January 2012 -- “We in the education sector believe that the learner needs to be given room for self-exploration and application of what is learnt rather than being a passive recipient. This is exactly what the WHO Health Academy Project is trying to achieve”. These were the words of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Baboucarr Bouy, at a recent ceremony marking the end of a countrywide inter-secondary school competition on the WHO Health Academy Project (HAP).