"Africa's Newborns Constitute The Forgotten Children. Of the more than 4 million neonatal deaths globally each year, the majority are in Sub-Saharan Africa where neonatal mortality rate is 45 deaths per 1000 live births compared with 34 in Asia, 17 in Latin America, and 5 in industrialized countries.

"The vast majority of neonatal death are due to three main causes : birth asphyxia (40%) ; low birth weight and prematurity (25%) ; and infections (20%). Many long terms disabilities are as a result of problems experienced at birth and in the early neonatal period."

Dr Ebrahim M. Samba, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, today condemned the implication of the film and fashion industry in the promotion of tobacco on the occasion of the commemoration of the 17th World No Tobacco Day which theme is "Tobacco free film. Tobacco free fashion". 
"It has been observed that a large number of locally produced films, videos and television programmes are inadvertently or deliberately including scenes with stars indulging in smoking. This very much contributes to the social acceptance of use of cigarettes."

Kenya Commemorates The 12th World No-Tobacco Day As Global Tobacco Survey Report Is Launched 31 May 2003

World No Tobacco Day 2003 whose theme is "Tobacco Free Film. Tobacco Free Fashion. Action ", was nationally commemorated on 31 May 2003 in Nakuru District, Rift Valley Province.

The Director of Medical Services, Dr. Richard Muga, represented the Chief Guest, Hon. Charity Ngilu, Minister for Health.

Brazzaville, 2 May 2003 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday welcomed the call by African health ministers for "appropriate responses" to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and pledged continued support to African countries, many of which have already taken measures to detect and curb the spread of the disease.

Brazzaville, 30 April 2003 -- African countries have tightened their health surveillance systems with a view to ensuring prompt detection and prevention of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the flu-like disease which has infected more than 5,462 people and killed at least 353 others worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim M. Samba said Wednesday in Brazzaville.

Brazzaville, 25 April 2003 -- "As we commemorate Africa Malaria Day 2003, I call on our collaborators and partners to join hands with governments of the Region to protect our pregnant women and children". 
This is the thrust of the message issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, on the occasion of the third Africa Malaria Day.

Brazzaville, 25 April 2003 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) is to provide technical support for the development and commercial production of dihydro-artemisinin, a plant-based anti-malarial medicine reputed to have the highest cure rate for the disease, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr E.M. Samba, has said. 
The medicine is extracted from Artemisia annua, a Chinese medicinal plant which also flourishes in Tanzania, and grown in commercial quantities in the country's Southern and Northern highlands.

Brazzaville, 30 April 2003 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, has commended organizations in the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partnership for their role in the fight against malaria in the African Region. 
Speaking on his return to Brazzaville, after the commemoration of Africa Malaria Day and the launch of Africa Malaria Report 2003 in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr Samba expressed appreciation for the re-energized commitment of the global malaria control community to the fight against malaria.

In Africa, 30 million women living in malaria-endemic areas become pregnant each year. For these women, malaria is a threat both to themselves and to their babies, with up to 200 000 newborn deaths each year as a result of malaria in pregnancy.

Epilepsy is one of the major brain disorders thought to affect between three and four million Africans. Sometimes called a seizure disorder, epilepsy is a chronic medical condition produced by a temporary change in the electrical function of the brain, causing seizures which affect awareness, movement or sensation. The disease affects people in all nations and of all races. Left untreated, like any other disease, it could impede the social development of the patient.