As the Ebola outbreak evolves in Guinea and Liberia, WHO continues to expand its activities by sending additional expertise to assist in all areas of the response.

A three-day workshop was organized from 28-30 April 2014 for eight Anglophone countries in Accra, Ghana, brought together five participants each from Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda. The participants were drawn from national EPI, National Regulatory Authority, Pharmacovigilance centres, and WHO national Focal Persons for EPI and Essential Medicines and Health Products. The workshop was facilitated and technical support provided by WHO HQ, WHO AFRO and WHO IST/ESA.   

Will eating raw onions once a day for three days protect me from Ebola? Is it safe to eat mangoes? Is it true that a daily intake of condensed milk can prevent infection with Ebola? These are just some of the questions posed to the health workers responding round the clock to calls received through the free Ebola hotline. With so many Ebola deaths to date, fear has allowed the spread of rumours and misinformation.

The immediate feedback from the just concluded 27th Expert Review Committee (ERC) on Polio and Routine Immunization in Nigeria has revealed  that the country ‘ is on the verge of making history by eradicating polio, the entire nation must be made aware, rallied and mobilized to capitalize on this unique window of opportunity’.

Every year World Malaria Day (WMD) is commemorated on 25th April and The Gambia joins the rest of the international community to mark this event. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOH&SW), WHO (UN) and partners all gathered in Basse, Upper River Region of the country to sensitize and educate the community on prevention, control and treatment of malaria.

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has tasked Governors of the 36 states ‘to continue to provide personal leadership, in your states for the programme by requesting and reviewing monthly reports from the local government chairpersons on the progress being made in their areas’ in order to avoid complacency or relapse to the era of widespread transmission of the paralysing disease.

"Immunization is a shared responsibility!" This call was made by the First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete when she launched the Immunization Week.

On 25 April 2014, South Sudan joined millions of people around the world to observe World Malaria day under the global theme, ’Invest in the future: Defeat Malaria,’ and locally under the theme, ‘Together we can defeat Malaria’. 

The WHO Representative to Ghana, Dr Magda Robalo, has commended Ghana for the continuous efforts to keep immunization coverage quite high and the burden of vaccine preventable diseases very low. She said Ghana stands tall for the country’s efforts to date, and the leadership in the introduction of vaccines against the major childhood killer diseases in the sub-region.

This year, the United Republic of Tanzania commemorated the World Malaria Day 2014 by hosting the Tanzania Malaria Control Forum and a press conference officiated by the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Seif Rashid.