Coronavirus - South Sudan: Amidst coronavirus pandemic, WHO and partners vaccinated 94 019 children aged 6 to 59 months against measles in Aweil East County of South Sudan

The campaign that ended on 3 July 2020 was implemented within the national and WHO guidelines for implementing mass vaccination campaigns in the context of COVID-19

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the country, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other partners have vaccinated over 94 019 children aged 6 to 59 months against measles in Aweil East County, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to interrupt the transmission. Following the reported cases of measles in…

Coronavirus - Africa and Middle East: Statement by WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari

Increasing numbers of cases are also being reported from Iraq, Libya, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Oman

By Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari June 30 marked six months since WHO received the first reports of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in China The six-month mark of the outbreak coincides with reaching 10 million cases and 500,000 deaths world-wide.  Although many countries have made some progress,…

Coronavirus: Rwanda Update COVID-19 (27 June 2020)

The number of active cases is four hundred and sixty-three (463) and two (2) deaths

Twenty (20) new COVID-19 cases were identified out of 4702 samples tested today. This brings the cumulative number of confirmed cases to eight hundred and seventy-eight (878). To date, four hundred and thirteen (413) patients have recovered and been discharged, including fifteen (15) in the past 24 hours. The number…

10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared over; vigilance against flare-ups and support for survivors must continue

World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates all those involved in the arduous and often dangerous work required to end the outbreak, but stresses the need for vigilance

Today marks the end of the 10th outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This long, complex and difficult outbreak has been overcome due to the leadership and commitment of the Government of the DRC, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), a multitude…

Coronavirus: Somalia Weekly Polio Update

The polio programme has synchronized its sample collection with COVID-19 sample transportation

Four new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) positive sewage samples have been identified from environmental surveillance (ES) sites in Mogadishu, indicating ongoing transmission and circulation of polioviruses. This brings the total number of cVDPV2 positive samples to 11 in 2020. The last reported case of paralysis in a child…

WHO welcomes preliminary results about dexamethasone use in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients

The benefit was only seen in patients seriously ill with COVID-19, and was not observed in patients with milder disease

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the initial clinical trial results from the United Kingdom (UK) that show dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, can be lifesaving for patients who are critically ill with COVID-19. For patients on ventilators, the treatment was shown to reduce mortality by about one third, and for patients…

Coronavirus - Sierra Leone: WHO is supporting Ministry of Health, Sierra Leone to improve capacity and quality control

Functional lab system is vital in health emergencies. WHO is supporting Ministry of Health, Sierra Leone to improve capacity and quality control including at COVID-19 labs through audit of SARS-CoV-2 testing workflow, biosafety & biosecurity, risk assessment, staff skill check & turn around time.  

Coronavirus: Rwanda Update COVID-19 07 June 2020

Eight (8) new COVID-19 cases were identified out of 1318 samples tested today. This brings the cumulative number of confirmed cases to four hundred and thirty-nine (439). To date, two hundred and ninety (290) patients have recovered and been discharged, including seven (7) in the past 24hrs. The number of…

New Ebola outbreak detected in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo; World Health Organization (WHO) Surge Team supporting the response

Initial information from the Ministry of Health is that six Ebola cases have so far been detected in Wangata, of which four have died and two are alive and under care

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced today that a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease is occurring in Wangata health zone, Mbandaka, in Équateur province. The announcement comes as a long, difficult and complex Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is in its final phase,…

Coronavirus - Africa: Record number of countries contribute data revealing disturbing rates of antimicrobial resistance

Evidence shows that only small proportion of COVID-19 patients need antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections

A record number of countries are now monitoring and reporting on antibiotic resistance - marking a major step forward in the global fight against drug resistance. But the data they provide reveals that a worrying number of bacterial infections are increasingly resistant to the medicines at hand to treat them.…