Featured news

This week marks one year since the start of the 10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Following the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 17 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the government of the DRC, other United Nations (UN) agencies, partners and communities, is working on further scaling up response and preparedness measures.

The President of South Africa, Mr. Cyril M Ramaphosa, on Thursday 25 July 2019 launched the country’s ‘Presidential Health Compact’. The Compact lays down a five-year roadmap for health systems strengthening reforms under the ‘9 pillars’ towards accelerating Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in South Africa. It originated from months of extensive consultative deliberations between key stakeholders following the Presidential Health Summit in Oct 2018. The Stakeholders comprised government, health and allied health professionals, labour, business community, academics and researchers, statutory bodies, traditional health practitioners and public health entities. WHO provided essential technical advice and support in development of the Presidential Health Compact.

The management and treatment of non-communicable diseases at primary levels will be in the spotlight from 29 July 2019 to 1 August 2019 when the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and the Ministry of Health Rwanda will be holding a Regional Consultation in Kigali.

Tobacco is one of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide, and with almost a fifth of the people in Africa – about 94 million people - using tobacco products, the World Health Organization, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners met recently to discuss strategies aimed at stopping and reversing the trend of tobacco usage in the region.