Addis Ababa – Heads of national regulatory agencies and national ethics committees from across Africa have agreed to harmonise their practices to strengthen regulatory oversight of clinical trials.

Liberia, 9 June 2016 – Today the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia. This announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in Liberia tested negative for the disease for the second time. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to ensure that any new cases are identified quickly and contained before spreading.

Kampala, 8th June 2016 - Twenty two (22) out of Uganda’s 112 districts have good access and utilization of immunization services reaching over 80% of the children with all recommended doses of life-saving childhood vaccinations according to their district specific targets. This is according to the findings of the recent annual National Administrative Immunization Performance Analysis done by the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization (UNEPI), supported by WHO and UNICEF. 

Kampala, 8th June 2016 - Twenty two (22) out of Uganda’s 112 districts have good access and utilization of immunization services reaching over 80% of the children with all recommended doses of life-saving childhood vaccinations according to their district specific targets. This is according to the findings of the recent annual National Administrative Immunization Performance Analysis done by the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization (UNEPI), supported by WHO and UNICEF. 

Minna, 02 June 2016 - As part of efforts to revitalize primary healthcare (PHC) and make health services accessible, affordable and equitable for all, the Niger State Government has launched an 8-point health reform agenda tagged ‘Niger Health 1.0’. The health reform will among other things ensure progressive realization of one fully functional PHC under-one-roof (PHCUOR), in every political ward over the next three (3) years.

The African vaccine week in Eritrea was observed from 25-30 April, 2016 at national level in all zobas focusing more on polio eradication endgame and the importance of quality of vaccination.  The service provided was to strengthen the routine immunization programmes in the country by increasing public awareness on the importance of every person’s right to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases at set times and schedules.

Lusaka, June 6, 2016 – On 19th May 2016, the World Health Organisation Country Office signed a financing agreement with the African Development Bank (ADB) on  leveraging mobile technology to improve access to basic health services in Zambia. Through this agreement, the ADB will provide WHO a grant  amounting to US$ 385,000  to support the Ministry of Health in  implementation of the Mhealth initiative.

6 June 2016 - WHO launched the first ever drug module kit for the management of Severe Acute Malnutrition and Medical Complications in children. South Sudan is the first country in the world to introduce the use of the kit. The kit constitutes the most essential and basic medicine for the treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition and medical conditions. The kits comprise four basic modules of routine, basic, supplementary and malaria drugs.

In order to address some of the staffing challenges that affect Sierra Leone's health sector, a two-day summit attended by technical and policy experts from around the world was held in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 2-3 June 2016. The summit, organized by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation with support from the World Health Organization and the Clinton Health Access Initiative aimed to lay a foundation to improve human resources for health in Sierra Leone . 

Entebbe 1st June 2016 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) with support from the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Education Fund and Center for Disease Control held a three-day training for the members of of Uganda’s armed forces (Military, Police and Prisons) on the usage of Electronic Health Management Information System (eHMIS) at Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel, Entebbe.