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Gaborone – African health ministers today endorsed a regional strategy to ramp up action against antimicrobial resistance, which is estimated to have directly contributed to 1.27 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2019.

The region faces a high burden of antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat. Globally, around 10 million people – including 4.1 million in the African region – are projected to die of antimicrobial resistance by 2050.

The Republic of Botswana and the World Health Organization today announced the designation of the Botswana National HIV Reference Laboratory as a WHO Collaborating Centre of Excellence, in recognition of the laboratory’s excellence in the field of HIV diagnosis and the potential for deeper collaboration with WHO in advancing the health and well-being of people living with HIV.

Gaborone – African health ministers and government representatives today opened the Seventy-third session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa to discuss and agree on key measures to address the region’s health challenges, advance and promote good health and well-being.

Demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to the protection of public health through collaborative efforts, the World Health Organization (WHO) South Africa worked closely with the National Department of Health (NDOH) and partners to successfully wrap up its Cholera preparedness and readiness training sessions in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.

Nestled on the outskirts of Blantyre district, Ndirande Hill primary school stands as a beacon of hope for its 1,666 learners. It is surrounded by weathered and corrugated houses. Many of the students' families struggle to make ends meet in their daily lives. The Cholera outbreak is another burden to grapple. However, amidst these challenging circumstances, a remarkable milestone has been achieved through film-based education on cholera prevention.

Namibia received an onboarding training on the Epidemic Intelligence for Open Sources (EIOS) community to ensure that health threats are identified and responded to early and rapidly with no impact on lives and livelihoods. The training is being rollout by the WHO Regional Office for Africa to all its 47 member states with the aim of building a community of well-trained public health intelligence professionals.