Abuja, 7 April 2011 -- The Hon Minister for Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu has urged Nigerians to heed the warnings from the public health community about actions that contribute to antibiotic resistance. ‘The time to act is now to ensure a healthier and better tomorrow’, said the Minister, explaining that ‘the germs that cause disease develop a defense against our drugs because of the way we have been using them.’ This will render many of our drugs ineffective, for example those used against malaria and tuberculosis.

Harare, 7 April 2011 -- The Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) have signed the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF) for the 2012–2015 cycle. The ZUNDAF is the UN’s strategic programme framework to support national development priorities for the period 2012—2015 as well as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control in Ministry of Health and Sanitation with assistance from the WHO and CDC conducted a two day workshop to develop a national surveil-lance, preparedness and response strategic plan for Sierra Leone. This is the first consensus building workshops and was attended by Directors, hospital and programme Managers, laboratory technicians, medical officers and health sector partners.

Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 40 experts from 15 countries in the WHO African Region gathered today to train on tobacco taxes in Nairobi, Kenya as part of efforts of Member States in the WHO African Region to address the growing prevalence of tobacco use. The experts were drawn mainly from the ministries of finance in their respective countries. The countries involved include Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Harare, 7 April 2011 -- To mark World Health Day 2011, WCO Zimbabwe held 2 wellness days and a concert for staff, their dependents, and partners at the Highlands complex. The wellness days, which are being held for the second time, were bigger, with more service providers and open to the UN family and the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare. Some of the people who graced the 2 day commemoration include, The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Alain Noudehou, The FAO Representative, Mr.

Ondjiva 25 April 2011 -- On World Malaria Day, Namibia’s and Angola’s Health Ministers with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a historical Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that launched the Trans-Kunene Malaria Initiative (TKMI). The MOU aims to strengthen cross-border collaboration to reduce malaria transmission to zero in the Trans-Kunene region comprised of Cunene and Namibe provinces in Angola and Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati regions in Namibia.

Nairobi, Kenya 7th April 2011 -- Kenya joined the rest of the world in commemorating this year’s World Health Day under the theme “Combating Anti-Microbial Resistance”. The day observed at the Riruta Health Centre, Dagoretti in Nairobi was presided over by the Director, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Dr. Sharif Shaanaz and attended by WHO Country Representative (WR/Kenya), Dr. Abdoulie Jack among other dignitaries and partners.

Brazzaville, 7 April 2011 -- The first Africa Regional Ministerial Consultation on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) ended in the Congolese capital on Wednesday (6 April) with the adoption of the Brazzaville Declaration on NCDs.

Luanda, 7 April 2011 -- The Angolan Minister of Health, Dr. José Van-Dunem, and the Minister of Health and Social Services of Namibia, Dr. Richard Kamwi, on Tuesday 5th April 2011 signed a joint statement in which they committed themselves to coordinating and improving health interventions along the borders between the two countries.

Kampala, 7 April 2011-- In Uganda today, there are 150 cases of Multidrug resistant tuberculosis that have been reported in the community. These and more cases are resistant to the recommended anti-TB drugs that include isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol and streptomycin.