31 May 2017 - Only 1.8 million people of the 6.5 million people living with HIV in western and central Africa were on antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2015. This 28% treatment coverage of people living with HIV in the region contrasts with the 54% coverage in eastern and southern Africa in the same year.

Accra, 31 May 2017 - The World Health Organization (WHO) office in Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and Foods and Drugs Authority launched the Smoking Cessation Clinical Guidelines for Ghana and Tobacco Control Regulations, LI 2247 during the national launch of World No Tobacco Day celebrations in Ghana.  The occasion also saw the presentation of the 2017 World No Tobacco Day, Director-General’s Awards to Mrs Olivia Agyekumwaa Boateng, Head of Tobacco and Substance Abuse, Foods and Drugs Authority.

31 May 2017 Monrovia :  Action to stamp out tobacco use can help countries prevent millions of people falling ill and dying from tobacco-related diseases, combat poverty and , according to a first ever WHO report, reduce large-scale environmental degradation.

FREETOWN (31 May 2017)—Sierra Leone’s latest Maternal Death and Surveillance Report, released today at a launch in the capital, Freetown, calls for united actions from government, health workers, communities and partners to tackle the high number of maternal deaths in the country. In all, a total of 706 maternal deaths were reported during 2016, though the report suggests that the true figure may be much higher still. 

May 31 2017 --- On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization is highlighting how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. Globally tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year, which is one death every five seconds. 

No longer ashamed

Uganda commemorated the Fourth UN Global Road Safety Week with a call to Ugandan drivers to reduce speed on roads, respect road rules and signage as well as to be considerate to other road users.

Eritrea conducted a workshop on Stakeholders on the process for the development and implementation of National Action Plan for the Prevention and Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance using the “One Health Approach” on April 2017 at Embassoira Hotel in Asmara.

Victoria, Seychelles, 25th May 2017 - A group of 30 Managers from different cadres within the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Seychelles have been oriented on the Workload Indicator for Staffing Needs (WISN) methodology developed by the WHO, during a five day workshop at the MoH Headquarters. Three WHO Consultants under the leadership of Dr Magdalene Awases from the Regional Office’s Inter-Support Team facilitated the workshop.

Mbabane, Swaziland 25 May - The Kingdom of Swaziland completed a two weeks long first ever joint review of four programmes; Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Tuberculosis (TB), Viral Hepatitis prevention and control as well as Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV(PMTCT). This is in line with the country’s plan to strengthen integration of the four programmes. Currently the programmes have separate strategic plans. For example: the HIV Health Sector Response Plan runs from 2014 – 2018 and the TB National Strategic Plan runs from 2015 – 2019.