APO Group - Africa Newsroom / Press Release

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa | May 28, 2022

Togo Eliminates Trachoma as a Public Health Problem

The West African nation becomes the fourth country on the continent to be validated by World health Organization (WHO) as having reached the elimination milestone after Morocco in 2016, Ghana in 2018 and The Gambia in 2021

Togo has eliminated trachoma, an eye disease that can cause permanent blindness, as a public health problem. The West African nation becomes the fourth country on the continent to be validated by World health Organization (WHO) as having reached the elimination milestone after Morocco in 2016, Ghana in 2018 and…

Source: AstraZeneca | May 24, 2022

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine approved in the EU as third dose booster against COVID-19

Approval follows CHMP recommendation for use in patients previously vaccinated with AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine or an EU-approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

AstraZeneca's (www.AstraZeneca.com) COVID-19 vaccine has been granted approval in the European Union (EU) by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) as a third dose booster in adults. Healthcare professionals can now use AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a third dose booster in patients previously given a primary vaccine schedule of either AstraZeneca…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | May 22, 2022

WHO Director-General's Opening Address at the World Health Assembly

Reported cases have declined significantly from the peak of the Omicron wave in January of this year

The pandemic is most certainly not over. This virus has surprised us at every turn – a storm that has torn through communities again and again, and we still can’t predict its path, or its intensity. We lower our guard at our peril. Almost one billion people in lower-income countries remain unvaccinated. Only…

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- The head of Akindeko market (left) speaking on the importance of vaccination
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Source: World Health Organization (WHO) - Nigeria | May 20, 2022

States expand vaccination to underserved communities, close immunization gaps

The week is an important opportunity to address the importance of immunization as a life-saving innovation

At the Akindeko market in downtown Osogbo, the capital of Osun State located in South-West Nigeria, the female head of the market (Iya-oloja) Mrs Kabiru, has taken it upon herself to raise awareness on the importance of immunization among the community. Using her leadership position in the market, Mrs Kabiru…

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | May 19, 2022

Disease outbreak news: Monkeypox - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The West African clade of monkeypox was identified in the two confirmed cases

Situation at a glance On 13 May 2022, WHO was notified of two laboratory confirmed cases and one probable case of monkeypox, from the same household, in the United Kingdom. On 15 May, four additional laboratory confirmed cases have been reported amongst Sexual Health Services attendees presenting with a vesicular…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa | May 18, 2022

Mozambique confirms wild poliovirus case

The virus was found in a child who began experiencing onset of paralysis in late March

Health authorities in Mozambique today declared an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 after confirming that a child in the country’s north-eastern Tete province had contracted the disease. This marks the second imported case of wild poliovirus in southern Africa this year, following an outbreak in Malawi in mid-February. So…

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism - Foreign Affairs Department, Republic of Seychelles | May 17, 2022

Accreditation of four Representatives of the United Nations Agencies to Seychelles

Minister Radegonde congratulated the representatives on their accreditation

Four new representatives of the United Nations (UN) agencies, namely: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), presented their credentials to Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister for Foreign Affairs & Tourism,…

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa | May 12, 2022

Coronavirus: Southern Africa faces uptick in COVID-19 cases

The sub-region recorded 46 271 cases in the week ending on 8 May 2022, marking a 32% increase over the week before

Southern Africa is facing an upsurge in COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive week as the winter season in the region approaches. The uptick has broken a two-month-long decline in overall infections recorded across the continent. The sub-region recorded 46 271 cases in the week ending on 8 May 2022,…

Source: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) | May 10, 2022

Angola: Leprosy mirroring the gap between law in books and law in practice

It is very likely that there is considerable underreporting in the country

“I welcome the commitment made by the government of Angola to actively engage with the international human rights system and to eliminate leprosy-related discrimination, but the authorities should double its efforts to achieve this goal”, says the UN expert, at the end of her official visit to Angola, from 28…