The African Union First Ladies made a call for action on 31 January 2015 for continent-wide efforts, leadership and political commitment to kick polio out of Africa. The First Ladies agreed to advocate for a polio-free Africa as a top priority for their governments in 2015 at an event jointly organized by the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (WHO, Rotary, CDC and UNICEF) at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Every day, approximately 35 women die in Ethiopia from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Although maternal deaths have declined by 70% in Ethiopia between 1990 and 2013, maternal mortality remains unacceptably high and more efforts are needed to meet the Millennium Development Goal 5 target of 267 per 100,000 live births. Access to antenatal care in pregnancy, skilled care during childbirth, and care and support in the weeks after childbirth are what makes the difference between life and death.

Marondera, 2015  Zimbabwe has mounted an effective response to the HIV epidemic, and HIV prevalence has come down from 27% in 1997 to 15%  to date. In addition to the prevention and treatment interventions that have been deployed, voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC)  is a high impact intervention that has been adopted, which has the potential to to drive further dramatic declines in the trajectory of HIV in Zimbabwe.

Kampala, 2nd February 2015 -- The Ebola virus disease (EVD) continues to ravage Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in West Africa. Uganda, through WHO, international NGOs and partners continues to support the response efforts sending teams of health workers to help contain the disease.

Abuja, Nigeria 02 February, 2015 - In Kaduna, 43,201 children were vaccinated on highway check points, markets and motor parks during the January 2015 polio supplemental immunization days conducted between 24-27 January across the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to avoid importation and exportation of polio viruses in the state. This activity is in line with the state’s resolve to remain polio free and working in tandem with the most recent Polio Expert Review Committee’s (ERC) recommendation.

GENEVA, 27 January 2015  -- The WHO Executive Board, currently holding its 136th session, has appointed Dr Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti as the new Regional Director for WHO's Africa Region. Dr Moeti was nominated Regional Director by the health ministers of the 47 Member States of the WHO African Region at the annual Regional Committee for Africa in Cotonou, Benin, in November 2014. Dr Moeti will take up her appointment for a five-year term on 1 February 2015, succeeding Dr Luis Gomes Sambo who has served as Regional Director for the past 10 years.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has produced increasing circles of victims beyond the infected and the dead. Survivors, families, children, and health workers are dealing with the stress and trauma left behind by the disease.

“Health workers have done, and continue to do, long shifts attending to too many patients while witnessing their colleagues’ deaths and working under a lot of fear and stress,” says Florence Baingana, mental health specialist for WHO Liberia.

25 January 2015 -- Today, WHO Director-General opened the Executive Board's Special Session on Ebola. Dr Chan emphasized the need to maintain the momentum and guard against complacency and donor fatigue. UN Special Envoy for Ebola, Dr Nabarro, conveyed a message from the UN Secretary-General reinforcing the call to draw lessons from this outbreak for the future.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has produced increasing circles of victims beyond the infected and the dead. Survivors, families, children, and health workers are dealing with the stress and trauma left behind by the disease. Read how a psychosocial worker supports Ebola patients, and serves as a liaison between Ebola patients and their families and communities.

Interview with Rob Fowler, a critical care physician from Canada, who worked in West Africa since the first confirmed cases of Ebola.

Getting the epidemiology right, contact tracing, social mobilization, infection prevention and control are what will play the biggest role in stopping the Ebola outbreak.