Dar es Salaam, 12 December 2012 -- Nigeria, the only polio-endemic country in Africa, has outlined its strategies to interrupt wild polio virus transmission in the country by 2013.

The strategies were outlined in a presentation made by Dr Mahmud Mustafa Subaru of Nigeria’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency at the fourth Annual Regional Conference on Immunization in Africa which ended on Wednesday (12 December)  in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The training targeted health workers from Kambia, Port Loko Districts and the Western Area. The cadre of the participants included medical doctors and nurses, national and district disease surveillance officers, laboratory tech-nicians, pharmacists, M&E and health education officers as well as sector partners such as the Office of National Security.

Lisbon, 10 December 2012 -- The Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) has bestowed the title of "Doutor Honoris Causa" on Dr Luis Gomes Sambo, the World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa. The ceremony took place today in Lisbon, Portugal presided over by Professor Antonio Rendas, Rector of the University and the Members of the University Council.

The distinction was awarded in recognition of his distinguished expertise and outstanding contribution to public health in Africa.

Brazzaville, 10 December 2012 -- “Immunization is an important component of health systems and a key strategy to reducing child mortality, improve maternal health and combat diseases. It is for this reason that we need to work together as a region to reach all children with Immunization Services in Africa”.

Pretoria, 10 December 2012 -- The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) welcome last week’s publication by the Government of South Africa of the Regulations Relating to Foodstuffs for Infants and Young Children, based on the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and World Health Assembly Resolutions.

The fourth Annual Regional Conference on Immunization commenced today, 10th December, 2012, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The three days conference has brought together experts from different countries within and outside the African region, delegates from UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral development institutions, Non-Governmental organizations, foundations and civil society with the aim to discuss how to strengthen the delivery of immunization services in all Member States in the African Region.

Pretoria, 07 December 2012 -- Print, radio and television Journalists from seven priority Anglophone countries attended the WHO African Region’s media training on Neglected Tropical Diseases held in Johannesburg, South Africa, 4 to 6 December. The training focussed on:

1. Explaining NTDs’ importance in health and broader socio-economic development to help journalists identify news stories for more frequent coverage.

2. Improving journalists’ knowledge on NTDs concepts and terminology for accurate NTDs reporting.

Two staff members from WHO Sierra Leone that participated in a Personal Effectiveness Training Workshop in Brazzaville shared their experiences with their colleagues at the Country Office by replicating the training. Ms Hannah Yankson and Mrs Edith Gray together with staff from other Country Offices attended the workshops from 4 to 7 December 2012 organized by the Staff Devel-opment and Learning Unit at the Regional Office in Brazzaville, Congo.

Sierra Leone commemorated World AIDS Day on 1 December 2012 on the theme Getting to zero new HIV Infection, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Death by 2015.

Lusaka 07 December 2012 -- The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and WHO Global Capacities, Alert and Response stakeholders regional meeting for mapping of unmet country needs to accelerate the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the African Region came to a conclusion on 6th December 2012. The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Olusegun Babaniyi officially closed the meeting.