Addis Ababa - The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) national laboratory accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to continue operating its duties as a National Polio Laboratory for Ethiopia. The laboratory-maintained its accreditation since 2001 though the onsite accreditation was not conducted for the past two years due to the pandemic. 

Kaduna, 19 August 2022 - When health workers took the Tuberculosis (TB) testing outreach to Rigasa community, Kaduna State, Rabi Umaru, a 37-year-old housewife, did not need much convincing to get tested. 

She had been coughing for two weeks but had not visited any health facility because of lack of funds. 

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Uganda’s Ministry of Health, has commenced a five-day training for 29 emergency responders from five African countries. Held from 15th to 19th August 2022 the training aims to build regional capacity to respond to the unpredictable nature of outbreaks of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers in the region.

Hailu Sabagadis, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Officer at WHO Ethiopia, and his team in Benishangul Gumuz Region have been regularly providing onsite and remote technical support to multiple healthcare facilities in the region. Hailu assesses and monitors the facilities' IPC capabilities and proper implementation of COVID-19 and other infection prevention activities.

Dar es Salaam - The impactful integration of gender – along with equity and human rights approaches– into the corporate work of the World Health Organization is underscored as one of the Organization’s strategic priorities in its Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019 to 2023 (GPW13). To operationalize this impactful integration, WHO places mainstreaming gender, equity and human rights at the core of the “Leave no one behind” approach to universal health coverage and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

By Tatenda Chimbwanda

Meemuna Sadam* is a public health expert in the Somali Region in Ethiopia. Together with her colleagues, she raises awareness and provides education on female genital mutilation (FGM) to communities and also conducts advocacy actions targeting religious leaders. 

Meemuna is also a victim of FGM. “I was only six years old when they cut and sewed me up. The pain was unbearable; I still remember the fear, pain and abandonment I felt.” In the Somali region of Ethiopia, girls usually experience FGM between the ages of 5-10 years. 

Abuja, 11 August, 2022 - In February 2022, Mariam Udeh, 26 years old, residing in Garki, Abuja, gave birth to her first child and was in uncharted territory. As a new mother, she agreed with her husband to exclusively breastfeed their baby for six months.