Kampala, Uganda – Every day across Uganda, health workers face life-or-death emergencies: a child struggling to breathe from severe pneumonia, a mother experiencing postpartum haemorrhage, a victim of a road traffic crash, or a patient arriving with severe asthma or diabetic complications. In many of these situations, survival depends on what happens in the first few minutes of care.

Maseru — World Health Organization has handed over ICT and medical equipment valued at approximately US$150 000 to the Government of Lesotho, strengthening the country’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats while improving the delivery of essential health services.

Around 30 participants and experts from Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and Europe gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a four-day workshop designed to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration for outbreak response. Provided by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), with technical and operational support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the workshop was organized within the framework of the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) initiative.

Haruna Darboe stood beside the weighing scale, watching closely as a health worker recorded his three-month-old daughter's weight before administering her routine vaccinations at Serekunda Health Centre. As a first-time father, the moment carried more meaning than a routine clinic visit. It was reassurance that he was doing everything he could to protect his child.

“As a first-time father, I want to do everything possible to protect my child,” he said. “Seeing my baby receive vaccines gives me confidence that she is growing up with the protection she needs.”

Mwanza – The Government of Tanzania has expanded its pool of trained and deployable Emergency Medical Team (EMT) personnel with the induction of 50 health professionals from five Lake Zone regions, strengthening the country’s capacity to mobilize skilled teams rapidly during outbreaks, disasters and other health emergencies.

Nairobi - Every year, an estimated 121 million pregnancies worldwide are unintended, and nearly half of all abortions performed globally are unsafe, a preventable cause of maternal death and disability. Across Africa, persistent gender inequality and gaps in access to sexual and reproductive health services continue to put this burden disproportionately on women and girls.

Zanzibar – Zanzibar is taking steps to strengthen health promotion and build healthier communities by equipping its newly recruited Health Promotion Unit (HPU) staff with modern skills in Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Social Listening, Infodemic Management, and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). 

Mara Region – As part of ongoing national efforts to strengthen readiness for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and other viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), implemented a five-day capacity-building initiative for frontline healthcare workers and health facilities in Mara Region.

 In Kebbi State, Surajuddeen Lukman has seen how delayed or incomplete information can slow a public health response.

“In Kebbi State, I have seen how delayed or incomplete data can affect response efforts. This training is helping me better analyse information so health teams can reach communities faster and protect more children,” she said. 

Morogoro – Health experts, epidemiologists, laboratory professionals and surveillance focal persons from across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar came together to review the performance of the country’s Respiratory Pathogens Sentinel Surveillance system and identify priorities to further strengthen its capacity to detect and respond to respiratory disease threats.