With more than 100 public health emergencies every year – ranging from disease outbreaks to natural and human-made disasters, Africa reports the heaviest burden globally. World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting countries in the region to reinforce their emergency medical teams to improve the quality and timeliness of health services during disasters and other emergencies.
In the Republic of the Congo, 80% of donated blood products are provided to hospitals treating women and children. Shortages of blood can be life-threatening to patients who need it for critical, emergency medical procedures.
Sixty-four-year-old Petalis Ouma has suffered chronic cough and chest pains. Lately, the chest pain has been worsening. He has never smoked a cigarette but cultivated tobacco for years in his home in Migori, a region in southwestern Kenya where tobacco farming is one of the primary cash crops.
Environmental surveillance teams across Zambia are instrumental to the country’s polio eradication programme. Since the outbreak of wild poliovirus in Malawi in February 2022, they have stepped up efforts for early detection as five countries in south-eastern Africa bolster the drive to vaccinate children and halt the virus.
Juba - Near the banks of the White Nile in South Sudan, residents of a settlement are among the latest recipients of COVID-19 vaccines, as efforts continue to take them to more locations in the country.
Lilongwe - Sensitizing border communities on the occurrence of a polio case is critical to enhance vaccine uptake and stop the spread of the virus. This is the multi country approach taken in Malawi and its neighboring countries since the confirmation of a wild polio case near Lilongwe and the subsequent declaration of the polio outbreak as a public health emergency in February 17th, 2022.
Brazzaville – Access to tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis as a crucial first step to detect and treat the disease remains a huge challenge in Congo, where around half of the estimated 21 000 TB cases are detected every year.
Lilongwe, 17 March 2022 - Cyclone Gombe has battered southern Malawi, bringing heavy rains to the districts of Machinga and Mangochi and prompting a cholera emergency. Currently, 19 cholera cases and 1 death have been reported.
