News Releases

Yaounde ‒ For the first time ever, a circulating variant poliovirus type 3 (cVDPV3) was fully sequenced in Cameroon, marking a major milestone in Africa’s efforts to detect and respond  faster to polio outbreaks. 

Poliovirus has three types: 1, 2, and 3. Although wild polio type 3 was declared eradicated in 2019, variant type 3 can still appear where immunity is low, making quick detection and response essential to contain outbreaks. 

Nairobi – For years, frontline health workers in Kenya faced long delays in receiving payments for their work in vaccination campaigns. Cash-based systems often took more than two weeks, sometimes never reaching workers at all. The process was weighed down by high costs, risks, and lack of transparency, undermining morale and disrupting polio outbreak response. 

Brazzaville — Nearly 150 million people in Africa are living with mental health conditions, with limited access to decentralized and integrated care, highlighting the region’s mental health challenges, a new mental health dashboard launched today by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa shows.

Bulape —The Democratic Republic of Congo has inaugurated a new Ebola treatment centre in Bulape health zone in Kasai Province, further consolidating efforts to ensure effective control to the ongoing outbreak. 

Brazzaville/Oslo - New funding to the AdVAncIng Clinical TRials Excellence in Africa (AVAREF) could help accelerate the development of life-saving vaccines to contain infectious disease outbreaks on the continent.

Kintele, Republic of Congo – The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) has convened experts to validate the Prototype Competency-Based Curricula for 10 health occupations in Africa. This landmark initiative is part of WHO’s broader Africa health workforce agenda and will lay the foundation for strengthening quality and harmonising health workers’ education across Africa, ensuring they are better prepared to respond to evolving health needs.

Abuja – Nigeria is rolling out one of the largest integrated vaccination campaigns in its history, aiming to protect around 106 million children against measles, rubella and poliomyelitis. The nationwide initiative will combine multiple vaccines and child health services in a single drive, ensuring efficient delivery to children across the country.