Dar es Salaam, 13-19 November 2017 - This year, the United Republic of Tanzania joined the world to commemorate World Antibiotics Awareness Week (WAAW) aimed to raise awareness of the urgent need to act on antibiotic resistance and the steps to be taken. The theme is “Seek advice from a qualified health professional before taking antibiotics”.

Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections in humans and animals.

Mr, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, the Deputy Minister of Health, has urged all Ghanaians to seek advice from qualified health practitioners before taking antibiotics. He emphasized that the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was ever increasing with serious implications on health indicators. He added that a major contributor to AMR was the misuse of antimicrobials; largely as a result of ignorance and irresponsible use by all actors.

The Honourable Deputy Minister for Health, Mr Aboagye Gyedu, has called for women and girls to be empowered with easy and equitable access to knowledge and resources to strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes in their families and better safeguard their own health. He made this statement during this year’s World Diabetes Day Celebration at Kyebi in the Eastern Region of Ghana under the theme “Women and Diabetes-our right to a healthy future”.

Kampala, 17 November 2017:- The World Health Organization (WHO) has donated 10 motorcycles to Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH) to enhance Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) contact tracing, active case search as well as disease and death surveillance in Kween and Kapchorwa districts. The Motorcycles worth USD 32,000 will eventually be used to strengthen the community disease surveillance system in the two districts when the current outbreak response activities come to an end.

FREETOWN, November 16 2017 --- At a handover ceremony today, the World Health Organization in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) donated 75 vehicles to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The vehicles, which include 18 cars and 57 motorbikes, will be used to support disease surveillance and response to outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

Critical gaps in data also a concern.

15 November 2017:- WHO has been implementing the Emergency Response Plan since 20 October 2017 when the Ministry of Health officially declared the outbreak. WHO released US$ 624 000 from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to rapidly respond which has proven to help contain the outbreak.