Brazzaville, 4 February 2012 -- Adopting healthy life styles such as consumption of diets high in fruits and vegetables, avoiding tobacco use, as well as engaging in regular physical activity are essential to preventing or reducing the risk of cancer.

A team of international financial management and health technical experts of the Joint Funding Platform completed a one week scoping mission in Sierra Leone. The team comprised of experts from GAVI, Global Fund World Bank and WHO. The mission was conducted under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and facilitated by different levels of WHO.

The Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control (DPC) in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) held its 4th quarter 2011 disease surveillance review meeting from 20-21 January 2012. The meeting examined the status of surveillance activities in the country for the period under review and set agenda for the first quarter of 2012.

In this Issue

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation launched a partnership for safe medicines initiative on 17 January 2012. The initiative is aimed at ensuring quality, effica-cy and safety of all medicines and promotion of rational use of medicines among healthcare providers and patients.

Banjul, 17 January 2012 -- “We in the education sector believe that the learner needs to be given room for self-exploration and application of what is learnt rather than being a passive recipient. This is exactly what the WHO Health Academy Project is trying to achieve”. These were the words of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Baboucarr Bouy, at a recent ceremony marking the end of a countrywide inter-secondary school competition on the WHO Health Academy Project (HAP).

Directorate of Drug and Medical Supplies in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation held a technical stakeholders consensus meeting from 11-12 January 2012 to further deliberate on the draft National Medicines Policy, National Essential Medicines Lists, Standard Treatment Guidelines, and National Formulary. Updating of the Na-tional Medicines Policy and its component documents and their sub-sequent implementation seek to strengthen pharmaceutical care de-livery in the country.

16 January 2012, Brazzaville -- The 130th Session of the World Health Organization's Executive Board is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from 16 – 23 January 2012.

16 January 2012 – There is a threat of malnutrition and possible vector-borne, water borne and respiratory tract disease outbreaks among the displaced population in Pibor county.

The displacement follows intertribal clashes in the last week of December 2011 and first week of January 2012, in which over 60 000 people from Pibor, Lekuangole, Fertait, Bilait, Dorein and many other areas were displaced, with many reported wounded or dead.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) in partnership with its stakeholders organized a two-day retreat from December 15 to 16, 2011. The retreat brought together key stakeholders under MoHS leadership to review and agree on key policy areas of focus in the medium-term as provided for by the country compact.