The Government of Ethiopia announced the achievement of the MDG 7c target on access to drinking water supply on 23 March 2015. Today, over 52 million people in Ethiopia have access to clean and safe water, compared to only 6 million people in 1990. This achievement was confirmed after the WHO/UNICEF Global Joint Monitoring Programme for Water and Sanitation (JMP) mission to Ethiopia in November 2014. 

The last week of April each year is marked by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners as World Immunization Week. It aims to raise public awareness of how immunization saves lives, encouraging people everywhere to vaccinate themselves and their children against deadly diseases. This year, World Immunization Weekwas observed on 24-30 April with the message, “Close the Immunization Gap”. As part of the week-long event, the African Vaccination Week was held with the theme, “Vaccination: a gift for life”. 

Port Harcourt, Rivers 11 May 2015 - The reinforced partnership with private health facilities in Rivers State is beginning to yield unprecedented results as recent exit interviews indicate that 92%  of caregivers were satisfied with routine immunization services despite the lingering industrial action embarked upon by public health workers of Rivers State. As at the end of March 2015, the state’s routine immunization (RI) coverage stands at 58% for Penta 3 which is on course to attaining the national target of 80% by end of the year.

The eighth World Malaria Day was celebrated for the eighth time on 25 April 2015 in Hawassa, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) in a colorful event that called for renewed commitment and increased investment towards Malaria control and elimination. The message of this year’s World Malaria Day is, “Invest in the Future.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have a longstanding and strong partnership in Africa, consisting of technical and financial collaboration. To enhance their strategic cooperation on HIV/AIDS, WHO and CDC conducted a multi-country grant implementation and strategic review meeting on 9-11 March 2015 in Addis Ababa. CDC and WHO staff from Headquarters and Regional Offices, as well as the country offices of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Namibia, South Africa and Uganda, took part in the meeting.

The World Health Organization’s Ethiopia Country Office hosted the WHO Consultative Bi-Regional Meeting on the Status of The Implementation of Visceral Leishmaniasis Control Strategies and Epidemiological Situations in Eastern Africa that was organized and facilitated by WHO Headquarters. 

The 10th TB Research Annual Conference was held in Adama, Oromia Region, on 21-23 March 2015 preceding the World TB Day commemoration in Asella, Oromia, on 24 March 2015. The Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health, the TB Research Advisory Committee, Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Arsi University and Adama Hospital Medical College, was attended by more than 300 participants from the Ministry and its agencies, regional health bureaus, academia, research and partner organizations like the World Health Organization in Ethiopia.

Brazzaville, 11 May 2015 – Taking into account the many challenges faced on the African continent and the necessity for an accountability framework for health security, the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and partners is in the process of launching the Centres for

Kenya joined the rest of the world to mark the third UN Global Road Safety Week scheduled for 04 to 10 May 2015. This year, the theme for the Global Road Safety week focused on children and Road Safety. The national event was commemorated on 7th May 2015 at General Kago primary school in Thika, Kiambu County. The day was presided over by the Director general of National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Mr Francis Meja.

Today, 9 May 2015, WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission. Forty-two days have passed since the last laboratory-confirmed case was buried on 28 March. The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over.
 
Interruption of transmission is a monumental achievement for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest, and most complex outbreak since Ebola first emerged in 1976. At the peak of transmission, which occurred during August and September 2014, the country was reporting from 300 to 400 new cases every week.