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On 18 August the Malawi Government launched the National Alcohol Policy at a ceremony that took place at Kantchito Primary School Ground at Bembeke in Dedza District. The guest of Honor for the auspicious occasion was Honorable Minister of Health, Mr Atupele Muluzi MP. Among the distinguished guests were the World Health Organization Representative Dr Eugene Nyarko, the Chief of Health Services, Dr Charles Mwansambo, the Chairman for Southern Africa Alcohol Policy Alliance, Mr Phillip Chimponda Francis and the Executive Director for Drug Fight Malawi, Mr Nelson Zakeyu just to mention a few.

The first round of an Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) campaign in four priority counties of South Sudan with active transmission of cholera, has successfully concluded despite security and access challenges in some areas. The vaccination campaign started on the 29 July, 2017 to 4 August, 2017 in the Kapoeta state including Kapoeta South, Kapoeta North, and Kapoeta East while in Tonj East the campaign started on 5 August, 2017 and ended on 12 August, 2017.

The Launching of the second Health Sector Strategic Development Plan (HSSDPII) was held on 2 June 2017 at Orotta National Referral Hospital Conference Hall. The development of the HSSDP II for Eritrea for the period 2017-2021 was led by the Ministry of Health, with the participation of other Government Sectors, Partners and relevant stakeholders. In it’s formulation, recommendations from the mid-term review previously conducted on key achievements and challenges during the implementation of the HSSDP I and health sector situation analysis were used.

The United Republic of Tanzania is battling an outbreak of Cholera that has since August 2015 affected 26,046 people and claimed 410 lives. Ending the outbreak and preventing its spread beyond Tanzania's borders is a high priority for WHO. To that end, WHO and partners support a well-coordinated multisectoral response through the National Cholera Task Force which plans, coordinates and support subnational authorities.

“Building resilience, strengthening global health security!” was the theme during the historical launch of the Tanzania National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS). The journey towards the NAPHS started after completion of the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) in February 2016. This year, Tanzania made giant strides in strengthening the implementation of IHR core capacities.

In Ethiopia, thousands of pilgrims flock to holy water sites for spiritual cleansing and physical healing. People often drink the holy water and perform ceremonial cleansing for their bodies or those of their loved ones. But there is a risk that these sites can be contaminated with bacteria that cause acute watery diarrhea (AWD) or other waterborne diseases as open defecation is a common practice in open fields close to holy water sites. To protect the pilgrims, WHO is working with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ministry of Health, UNICEF, OCHA and other partners to ensure that water safety and latrine access is improved around holy water sites.