News Releases

The Ethiopian Parliament has passed landmark legislation with the express aim of curbing smoking in the country.  As a result of the legislation, Ethiopia has now introduced a mixed-excise system on cigarettes in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).  This involves a 30% tax rate of the cost of producing cigarettes, in addition to a specific excise rate of eight Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (USD$ 0.25) on each individual packet.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Ghana and Zambia have licensed an Ebola vaccine, just 90 days after World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. Registration of the vaccine is expected in additional countries in the coming weeks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board today formally appointed Dr Matshidiso Moeti for a second, five-year term at the helm of the organization’s African Region. Dr Moeti pledged to work on accelerating regional efforts towards the attainment of universal health coverage. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up novel coronavirus preparedness efforts in the African region and supporting countries to implement recommendations outlined by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, which met in Geneva, Switzerland on 30 January. On the advice of the Emergency Committee, the WHO Director-General, declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). 

Kenya, Mozambique and Niger have curbed polio outbreaks that erupted in different episodes over the past 24 months, allowing them to regain their polio-free status, World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.

WHO and partners unveil a five-year plan to monitor, prevent and respond to growing HIV drug resistance in Africa. HIV drug resistance is threatening the significant progress made in the global fight against the virus.

Around 2.2 million children are to be vaccinated against measles in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where efforts are underway to curb the world’s second-worst Ebola outbreak amid persistent insecurity.

Equatorial Guinea completes a joint external evaluation (JEE) of its capacity to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to public health risks. It is the 46th country in the African region to identify critical gaps and prioritize opportunities for better preparedness and response.