Infographics

Accra, Ghana – When Cynthia Adjei* had an episode of an acute mental health condition in her junior high school in 2021, she was greeted with derision. This led to a deep depression that threatened her future education as she couldn’t bear to face her fellow pupils.

“I never wanted to go back to school because I felt that everyone was staring at me and making comments as I passed by,” the now 18-year-old teen recalls. “All I could imagine was people talking about me,  and laughing.”

Accra, Ghana - Addressing gender barriers and inequities in access and use of health services has been identified as a key to accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly universal health coverage as enshrined in SDG three.

In a significant stride towards strengthening global health security, Zambia successfully concluded its second Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities, using the cutting-edge JEE 3.0 tool on 6 October 2023. The comprehensive assessment was conducted from 2 to 6 October 2023 at the Radisson Blu in Livingstone, by twelve external evaluators lead by Dr Allan Mpairwe of the WHO Regional Hub.  

The Ministry of Health has convened a National After-Action Review AAR meeting to reflect on the response to the recent Cholera outbreak. The aim of the review is to share lessons, challenges, and document best practices to improve public health emergency response.

Malinga Elizabeth, a mother of 2, has been one of the key players in Uganda's drive to improve the health of its population. For 37 years, she worked alongside the WHO Country Office as Personal Assistant to the WHO Representative and Human Resources Assistant.

"I joined WHO when I was only 26. Full of curiosity, I never knew I was going to spend most of my professional life there. Says Elizabeth Malinga, "Today, as I retire, I am happy to know that I have contributed to the improvement of the health system in Uganda.

^{By Vivian Mugarisi}

Since 2019, WHO has been supporting Ghana in deploying a web-based platform for monitoring quality Adolescent and Youth Friendly Health Services (AFYHS) standards. The platform, which has been deployed to 43 schools in four regions aims to empower adolescents to actively participate in monitoring the quality of healthcare services specifically designed for their needs. 

The Ministry of Health and Social Services with support from WHO  conducted a five-day tobacco training workshop to strengthen tobacco control measures in the country.   

The workshop that started on 11 September 2023 at Rundu in the Kavango East region also aimed at strengthening participants’ knowledge, skills and competencies through stakeholder engagement. 

The participants included environmental health practitioners from the Ministry of Health and Social Services and town councils, social workers, and  law enforcement agencies.