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Days before the most important exams of his life – the exams that would determine the course of his future, Claude Mabowa’s older sister tested positive for Ebola

As her bus approached the town of Masi Manimba, Rosette Mboma heard a local radio announcement for free measles vaccinations for children the following day.

When 33-year-old Kanyere Vwatire first left a health facility, it was the middle of the night and she was running away.

The tenth epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) officially began in August 2018. A year later, as of 10 September 2019, 3 091 cases had been confirmed, 2 074 of them had died, while 938 survived. The city of Goma, is highly vulnerable due to the huge population movement between the epidemic areas and Goma, with more than 5 000 travellers a day.

The Awarding Ceremony for the National Anti-Tobacco ‘Fresque Murale’ Inter-College Competition took place on 30 September 2019 at the R. Gandhi Science Centre, Bell Village in the presence of the high officials from the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research and WHO Representative in Mauritius, Dr Laurent Musango. Dr Bhoshun Ori, Director Health Services during his welcome address recalled that the National Anti-Tobacco Mural Painting Inter-Collage Competition was organized in June 2019 in the context of the World No-Tobacco Day 2019.  The aim of the competition was to deter the very first puff among young school youth.  A total of twenty-two private and public secondary schools registered for the competition.  Students in group of 5 to 8, led by their respective teachers, conceptualized mural painting at their respective schools according to the technical guidelines set.  A panel of juries comprising technical officers from the ministries of Health and Education, chaired by Dr Ori, Director Health Services, reviewed and assessed the entries based on well-defined criteria which include creativity, relevance and presentation among others. Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, during his speech, congratulated all the students who participated in the competition.  ‘You are winners in this competition’, he told the students present.  During the competition, you have sensitized your peers and everyone at schools on the harmful effects of smoking.  ‘Young people underestimate the likelihood of becoming addicted to nicotine when they first tried to smoke’, emphasized Dr Musango. 

In recognition of its health promotion commitment through the Healthy Cities initiative, the National Association of Cabo Verdean Municipalities was awarded a distinction for Outstanding Non-State Actors – a category including Non-Governmental Organizations, Universities and Philanthropy – from the United Nations Interagency Working Group for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO and partners launch emergency campaign to contain the world's fastest-growing measles outbreak, targeting infants and young children. There have been more than 3500 deaths, exceeding the number of deaths due to Ebola.

Kasika is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Goma, the largest city in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was in Kasika that Goma’s first case was detected.