Sierra Leone commemorated World Blood Donor Day (WBDD)2011 on the theme “More blood. More life”. The theme highlights the need to collect more blood and to ensure the availability and accessibility of blood to a larger number of patients to save their lives. Commemoration of the Day still continues in the country with a chain of community outreach activities to recruit more voluntary blood donors and to collect more safe blood for the National Safe Blood Services. These activities are being undertaken by both the voluntary donors themselves and Ministry of Health official and partners.

Sierra Leone launched its third Round of National Immunization Days (NIDs) 2011 campaign on 24 June. The campaign will be conducted effective its launch date to 27 June to administer Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to over one million children below the age of 5 years. The campaign is being synchronised with other countries in the West African Sub-region to protect targeted children from infection with polio virus which is still circulating in the region.

The 55th ICC meeting held in December 2010, decided to conduct the SNIDs in the high risk regions in Tanzania to prevent the importation of Wild Polio Virus (WPV). This was also a recommendation from East Southern African EPI Managers meeting in Harare held in March 2011.

Tanzania was considered to be in a high risk of getting importation of WPV due to heavy traffic movements to and from neighbouring infected countries using the Dar Es Salaam harbour. Four regions Kagera, Kigoma, Rukwa and Mbeya were identified to be at highest risk.

Brazzaville, 20 June 2011 -- The WHO Regional Office for Africa releases the Report "HIV in the WHO African Region: 2011 update - progress towards achieving the universal access to priority health sector interventions". The report calls on countries, international partners and donors to intensify actions to reduce the number of new HIV infections.

In this issue:

WHO Leprosy Goodwill Ambassador visits Malawi page cover page
Leprosy active search shows cases increasing in Malawi page 2—3
Preventing violence against children: a capacity building initiative in Malawi page 4—5
News in pictures page 6
Malawi Introduces pneumococcal conjugate vaccine page 7—8
The WCO Malawi implements the global learning program page 9
Staff movement in 2011 page 10
WHO Technical Assistance to Malawi from AFRO and HQ from July to December 2011 page 11.

Tanzania is committed to the global goal of polio eradication and will use its own resources and the support from the global community to move towards that goal. There has been no reported case of polio in the country since 1996, while polio surveillance indicators have been met. The support provided by the UN in this endeavour is most appreciated. This was said by Regional Commissioner Mwekipesile when he launched the SNIDS at Mbarali town outside Mbeya city in Mbeya Region, Tanzania.

As part of the commemoration of World No Tobacco Day 2011, there has been increased momentum in the campaign for tobacco control in Sierra Leone. The theme for this year's campaign is "The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control". The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty aims to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.

WHO Country Office in Sierra Leone donated vehicles, motor bikes and various equipment and furniture to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) as part of its continued support to the country’s health sector.

The items worth over US$400,000, were procured for different programmes including Blood Transfusion, Laboratory strengthening, Malaria Control, Disease Prevention and Control, Nutrition, Reproductive and Child Health, and Human Resources and Medical & Dental Council of Sierra Leone.

The Government of Tanzania, on 8th June 2011, acknowledged with appreciation the WHO support to health development being given to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

The Ag. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Gilbert Mliga made the statement on behalf of the Government of Tanzania during the handing over ceremony of three Land Cruisers worth US$154,223 to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for immunization activities.

Lusaka 6th, June 2011 -- Zambia is hosting the 10th programme manager’s annual review and planning meeting for Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination (LFE), Schistosomias Control and Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) Control Programmes. The 5 day meeting which has brought together a total of 78 participants out of which 48 are programme managers will take place from 6-10 June 2011.