News Releases

Brazzaville/Lilongwe/Maputo – Following thorough assessments in Malawi and Mozambique, an independent Polio Outbreak Response Assessment Team (OBRA) today recommended the closure of the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) outbreak in Malawi and Mozambique, marking a significant milestone in the fight against polio in the African region.

Windhoek – The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and partner organizations today launched the region’s first-ever health investment charter that aims to align and drive sustainable investment in the health workforce.

Dar es Salaam – Health experts from across Africa, policymakers, civil society organizations and partners meeting for the first-ever conference on strengthening efforts to address the burden of severe chronic disease have called for increased recognition of the emergency presented by noncommunicable diseases and the premature deaths they cause.

Cotonou/Freetown/Monrovia — In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countries—Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone—today launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.

Brazzaville – A pioneering health investment charter, a first for the African region, is set to be launched at the African Health Workforce Investment Forum which will take place in Windhoek, Namibia from 6 – 8 May 2024. Key stakeholders will gather to consolidate efforts to drive up investment to counter critical health worker shortages.

Brazzaville—An estimated 51.2 million lives have been saved through vaccines in the African region over the past 50 years. For every infant life saved over that period, close to 60 years of life are lived, a new report by World Health Organization (WHO) finds.

Victoria ‒ In a further move towards pooled procurement of essential medicines and medical products, Ministers of Health from small African islands states established a secretariat and elected Mauritius as the host, taking critical steps to launch joint operations for increased access to affordable, quality-assured and safe medicines and medical supplies.