15 December 2009 -- Significant progress has been made in delivering life-saving malaria nets and treatments over the last few years, but the coverage of malaria programmes needs to be stepped up drastically in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a report released today by WHO.

Read the news release on the World malaria report 2009

14 December 2009 -- The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Gomes Sambo, has called on countries in the African Region to intensify efforts to combine the benefits of vaccination technology with other child health interventions in order to reduce illness and death of children under-five years of age.

Kampala, 14 December 2009 -- The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) based in Entebbe, Uganda was recommended to host the Secretariat of the African AIDS Vaccine Programme (AAVP), after a very close competition involving a total of eight applicant institutions located in seven countries in Africa. This choice was announced today at the 5th AAVP Forum, held in Kampala, from 13-15 December 2009.

Brazzaville, 1 December 2009 -- The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has called on health workers at all levels to play a greater role in HIV primary prevention and encourage safe sex behaviour – abstinence, delay of age at first sexual intercourse, faithfulness and correct and consistent condom use – with a view to stemming the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the African Region.

Dr Sambo’s appeal is contained in his message marking World AIDS Day 2009 which will be observed on 1 December under the theme “Universal access and human rights”.

Tanzania is one of the countries that have good collaboration with WHO and other partners in health. This partnership has made it possible for WHO to solicit appropriate support from different partners and collaborators to compliment the Government’s effort towards ensuring improved health services of its citizens. Hence forth, WHO as the UN Agency specialised in Health, has been playing a central role in ensuring that appropriate measures and actions are taken to promote the health of the vulnaurable populations.

November 30, 2009 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis (TB) is visiting five African countries, Ethiopia included, in a bold initiative to fight the spread of one of the biggest killer diseases on the continent. The mission is organized by the Stop TB Partnership in close collaboration with WHO.

Brazzaville, 24 November 2009 -- The World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo was paid a courtesy visit by Equatorial Guinea’s Ambassador to the Republic of Congo, His Excellency José Ela Ebang Mbang, on Tuesday 24th November 2009.

During the visit, they discussed issues of mutual interest between WHO and the Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Among these was cooperation between WHO and the Equatorial Guinean government to further improve the health status of the people of Equatorial Guinea.

Efforts towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support are bringing AIDS out of isolation

Abuja, 19 November 2009 -- The first of two five-day inter-country workshops on pandemic influenza A H1N1 vaccine depolyment organized by the World Health Organziation (WHO) for its Member States in the African Region got underway on Monday in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

The workshop, being attended by representatives of French- and Portguese-speaking countries will be followed by another, scheduled from 23 to 27 November 2009, for English-speaking countries.

Both workshops aim at:

17 November 2009 -- The largest-ever yellow fever mass vaccination campaign will kick off next week across three African countries. The week-long event will target 11.9 million people across Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone, all three of which are at high risk of yellow fever outbreaks.