Dar es salaam- The World Health Organization (WHO) has donated 65 beds and essential Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) supplies to the Government of Tanzania to bolster the nation’s response to the ongoing cholera outbreak.

Over the years, Uganda has successfully responded to public health emergencies including Ebola, COVID-19, measles, anthrax, and others. This has been partly attributed to strong leadership and early rapid execution of outbreak response strategies.

In recent years, the world has witnessed a significant rise in public health emergencies and disasters due to environmental degradation, climate change, socioeconomic inequalities and increased cross-border movement of people and cargo. Such crises disrupt societies, causing loss of life, causes deaths and widespread suffering, and severe disruptions to health systems. For Botswana, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a stark reminder of the country's vulnerability to such emergencies.

Harare - The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has officially declared an end to a protracted cholera outbreak that began on 12 February 2023. The declaration was made in line with Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) guidelines following zero reports of cholera cases in Zimbabwe for more than four consecutive weeks.

Harare - The Ministry of Health and Child Care, with the support of the World Health Organization, and other partners has immunized over 200,000 people against cholera in the most vulnerable communities. This campaign has reached 22 wards in eight districts: Chegutu, Chiredzi, Chitungwiza, Masvingo, Mhondoro-Ngezi, Mutare Rural, Mt Darwin, and Sanyati.

In February 2022, a single case of Wild Polio Virus 1 sent shockwaves in Malawi, a case of a 14-year-old child in Ndirande, Blantyre changing the focus from under 5 routine immunization at birth to children aged 0-15 group as a target to combat the outbreak. The virus was genetically linked to a sequence from Pakistan, detected two years’ prior in Sindh province.

Harare – From August 1 to 7, the world celebrates World Breastfeeding Week. Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and optimal early childhood development, providing babies with their first immunization and all the nutrients required for their optimal brain development and growth. However, many mothers and infants lack the necessary support to start and continue breastfeeding successfully. Globally, only 44 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life.

An oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign was launched to protect at-risk populations in cholera-affected woredas (districts) across eight regions: Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Central Ethiopia, South Ethiopia, Sidma and Somali. Covering 89 woredas, including Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugee camps (Sudan), the campaign achieved 98.4% coverage, vaccinating over 10,196,575 people.