31 May to 03 June 2011 -- Dr Luis Gomes Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa, concluded an important 2-day official visit to the headquarters of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington. Throughout the visit, information was shared on public health matters of regional concern and identification of areas of shared priorities and further collaborative actions in an attempt to coordinate improved support to countries in the African Region.

On 31st May 2011, Kenya joined the rest of the world to mark World No-tobacco Day. The national event was held in Nairobi at the Hilton Hotel, presided over by the Director for Public Health and Sanitation, Dr. Shanaz Shariff, representing the Minister for Public health and Sanitation.

Tanzania commemorated this year’s World No Tobacco Day in Bagamoyo District, Coast Region on 31st May 2011. The occasion which was well attended was officiated by Hon. Dr. Hadji Hussein Mponda, Minister for Health and Social Welfare.

Brazzaville, 30 May 2011 -- WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has re-iterated his appeal to all Member States in the Region to ratify and implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

In his message on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), to be observed worldwide on Tuesday (31 May), Dr Sambo stressed that the treaty “is good for protecting public health, good for increasing government revenue, good for preserving the environment and good for helping tobacco growers to shift to alternative activities.”

24 May 2011 -- In her closing address Director-General Dr Margaret Chan praised delegates for consensus on issues that profoundly affect public health. Apart from discussions on unprecedented reforms at WHO, Member States reached agreements that expand the capacity of all countries to respond to pandemic influenza and other emergencies, strengthen health systems to improve access to quality care, tackle chronic noncommunicable diseases, and give the world a better chance to reach the health-related MDGs.

Sierra Leone launched the first African Vaccination Week (AVW) on 23rd May to strengthen national immunization programmes and improve knowledge among parents and caregivers about the need to vaccinate their children against vaccine preventable diseases.

The Week was launched by the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Mrs Sia Nyama Koroma in Freetown in a colourful ceremony in the presence of government functionaries, UN agencies, other development partners, health workers, the civil society and the gen-eral public.

The Executive Representative of the UN Secretary General (ERSG) in Sierra Leone, Mr Michael Von-der Schulenburg made a working visit to the WHO Country Office on 19 May 2011. The purpose of his visit was to be updated on the work of WHO and interact with Staff Members.

Lusaka,  18 March 2011 -- Recognizing the need to strengthen cross-border cooperation for effective disease surveillance and containment and in line with the 60th Session of the WHO Regional Committee Resolution on cross-border collaboration, the Ministers of Health from Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Zambia, met in Lusaka the capital city of Zambia from the 17 to 18th March 2011.

Brazzaville, 17 May 2011-- As Ministers of Health of  the WHO African Region gathered in Brazzaville on 6 April 2011 for their first ever session devoted to discussing how to address the high and growing incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo,   asked a thought-provoking question.

“How”,  he asked,  “did NCDs come to pose such a public health threat to the world” ?

In response to a request from the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences (MUHAS), Dr. Rufaro Chatora, WR Tanzania organized a briefing of the Masters of Public Health students on WHO, International Agencies and Global Health.

The session took place in the WCO conference hall and it was attended by 11 MPH students and lecturers. Others in attendance were some of the WCO Programme Officers.

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