Lilongwe November 2011 -- A colorful event took place at Masintha ground in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Saturday 12 November 2011, to officially mark the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV 13) as routine childhood vaccine in Malawi.

Brazzaville, 24 November 2011 -- Disease outbreaks, floods,  droughts, communal tensions, civil strife -- Africa   faces some of the world’s worst natural and man-made disasters which leave thousands dead, and millions injured, displaced and devastated.

And statistics bear this out.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, at least 32 of the 46 countries in the Region reported at least one public health emergency in 2009.

In this Issue

1. National Health Sector review
2. Independent Monitoring of National Immunization Days
3. WHO supports Blue Trunk Library in Sierra Leone

The National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP) of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation 2010 – 2015 serves as a guide in strengthening the health system in the country.

Lusaka, 22nd November 2011 -- The second National HIV Prevention Convention opened in Lusaka yesterday under the theme “Securing Zambia’s future through combination HIV prevention, palliative care and treatment.” The 3-day convention has been convened by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council, the United Nations County Team in Zambia and other partners to take stock of progress made in terms of the resolutions which were adopted at the first HIV prevention convention which was held in 2009.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation held a stakeholders meeting to finalize a draft Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan for the health sector. The plan is being developed by the ministry in collaboration with its health development partners to measure progress towards achieving objectives of the National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP).

Brazzaville, 19 November 2011 -- The African Advisory Committee on Health Research and Development (AACHRD) has recommended critical areas for action by the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing a regional response to research priorities in countries in the WHO African Region.

The recommendations were made at the end of the 25th session of the African Advisory Committee on Health Research (AACHRD which met from 17-19 November in Brazzaville, Congo.

Brazzaville,  17  November 2011 -- The results of research can help countries to formulate policies to address the menace of diseases and  other  barriers to health including  key  determinants such as the environment, access to clean water, food safety, nutrition, illiteracy, gender, the global financial crisis and extreme pov

What: Opening of a national workshop to sharpen skills in managing Non-Communicable Diseases

Who: MoHSS, Permanent Secretary Mr K. Kahuure, MoHSS, Director: PHC Services Ms. M. Nghatanga, WHO Representative, Dr Magda Robalo among other stakeholders.

When: 21 November 2011

Time: 08H30– 10H00

Where: Protea Hotel Thuringerhof

The teenage girls queuing up inside the Girls Senior High School in Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region of Ghana, fan away the hot air with their vaccination cards. Today’s immunization campaign is a welcome break from their school routine and the girls are the first in their country to receive the long-awaited meningitis A shots. Ghana is embarking on a programme to inoculate nearly 3 million people with a groundbreaking vaccine, MenAfriVac®, that has already significantly reduced the number of meningitis cases in other African countries.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) with technical and financial support of WHO and other partners on Thursday 27 October 2011 commenced a two day stakeholders meeting to validate Integrated National Waste Management Policy (INWMP) and Integrated National Waste Management Strategic Plan (INWMSP) for Sierra Leone developed as part of the implementation of the National Health Sector Strategic Plan 2010-2015 and government’s “Agenda for Change”.