Africa must factor health into development - Dr Ebrahim Samba

Brazzaville, 24 November 2004 -- African governments have been urged to come to terms with the emerging global consensus that there is a direct link between health and development.

"Our governments should accept the basic diagnostic point that good health is an integral part of development", WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, told the inaugural meeting of the African Health Economics Advisory Committee (AHEAC) which got underway Tuesday in Brazzaville, republic of Congo.

Africa Stakes The End Of Polio On Mass Immunization Drive, But Conflict Threatens Campaign In Cote d’Ivoire

Second Round Of House-To-House Immunization Campaigns Prioritizes Previously Un-reached. Children, But Funding Shortfall And Civil Unrest Threaten Final Outcome

DAKAR/HARARE, 18 November 2004 - At a crucial stage of the global polio eradication effort, the second round in a series of massive cross-border polio immunizations starts this week in 24 African countries. The house-to-house campaigns follow a successful first round held last month.

WHO Regional Expert Committee on Traditional Medicine meets in Brazzaville

Brazzaville, 16 November 2004 -- The fourth meeting of the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Traditional Medicine in the African Region got underway Tuesday in Brazzaville with a call on members of the group to come up with a "solid, evidence-based report" on positive health outcomes that could be achieved with the use of traditional medicine.

Dr Samba lauds role of partners in fight against malaria

Brazzaville, 23 April 2004 -- Dr Ebrahim Malick Samba, WHO Regional Director for Africa has urged Member States to intensify anti-malaria activities, in order to achieve the objectives of the Abuja Declaration adopted in April 25, 2000 by the African Heads of State.
"Malaria control efforts have shown substantial progress and achieved significant results at country level, but we should not lose sight of our goal: halving the malaria burden by 2010".

WHO announces theme of World Health Day 2005

"Make every mother and child count"

WHO announces theme of World Health Day 2005

29 OCTOBER 2004 | GENEVA -- Highlighting an invisible health crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) is making maternal and child health the focus of World Health Day on 7 April 2005. The WHO is also launching the World health report - also dedicated to maternal and child health - on World Health Day for the first time ever.

Botswana records steady progress in rolling out antiretroviral therapy

Brazzaville, 25 October 2004 -- Botswana is recording steady progress in providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) in the country and this has considerably reduced the overall mortality of patients, according to a report in the current issue of the Communicable Diseases Bulletin a monthly publication of the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO).

Meeting calls for special fund for maternal and newborn health in Africa

Harare, 11 October 2004 -- The third meeting of the Regional Reproductive Health Task Force in Africa ended Friday in Harare with a recommendation for the establishment of a special fund for the acceleration of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in the African Region.