This report presents the work provided by the WHO South Sudan Office in 2023, covering the work of the country
and field offices. It summarizes the major achievements under four categories of the country’s priorities: Universal HealthCoverage, EmergencyPreparedness andResponse, Enhancing health a...nd well-being, and a more effective and efficient WHO that better supports the country
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The website for the COPD Foundation in South Africa provides information and resources dedicated to raising awareness, improving education, and supporting individuals affected by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Managed by the C.A.R.E.S. Group (COPD Advocacy, Research, Education, Suppor...t), the site aims to advocate for better COPD management and care. It includes guidance for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, along with updates on research, events, and programs to enhance COPD treatment and support throughout South Africa.
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The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa webpage on diabetes provides an overview of the disease's impact in the African Region. It highlights that diabetes is a serious, chronic, and costly condition, with projections estimating cases to rise to 23.9 million by 2030. The page outl...ines risk factors such as physical inactivity, overweight and obesity, tobacco use, and diets high in unhealthy fats and calories. It also discusses the three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Recent surveys indicate that up to 15% of adults aged 25 to 64 in the region have diabetes, with many unaware of their condition. The lack of access to proper treatment and medications, especially insulin, often leads to complications like neurological, vascular, or visual disorders, heart disease, stroke, lower limb amputation, and kidney failure.
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Trends in under-five mortality rate in Malawi: Child health; Child protection ; Child survival ;Early childhood ;Education ;HIV/AIDS
Maternal and newborn health ;Nutrition ;Sanitation ;Drinking water;MICS
The Councils share a common mandate of ensuring persons practising health related professions in Namibia are suitably qualified. Registration with the Councils is, thus, a pre-requisite for professional practice – and it is also a legal requirement too update personal details of all registered hea...lthcare practitioners. The target of the Councils as per the five-year strategic plan (2020/2025) is to register and enrol twenty-four thousand six hundred and fourteen (24 614) healthcare practitioners by the 2021/2022 financial year. The Councils have significantly delivered on this mandate by registering and enrolling a total of twenty-six thousand six hundred and eighty-one (26 681) healthcare practitioners.
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Each year WHO and UNICEF jointly review reports submitted by Member States regarding national immunization coverage, finalized survey reports as well as data from the published and grey literature. Based on these data, with due consideration to potential biases and the views of local experts, WHO an...d UNICEF attempt to distinguish between situations where the available empirical data accurately reflect immunization system performance and those where the data
are likely to be compromised and present a misleading view of immunization coverage while jointly estimating the most likely coverage levels for each country.
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BMJ 2024 Mar 13:384:e077512. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-077512.
Co-infections in individuals with malaria are common, particularly in endemic areas, and can significantly impact disease severity and outcomes. Effective management requires prompt diagnosis of both malaria and any co-occurring infections,... followed by appropriate treatment strategies
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This paper is the first quantitative analysis of how the impact of extreme weather events, such as floods and cyclones, affects the malaria burden on the continent, as well as the implications of long-onset climate change. This research involved developing a climate model to predict changes in inten...sity, duration, and frequency of floods and cyclones across the continent
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According to the WHO, there were an estimated 251 million malaria cases (95% of global cases) and 579,414 malaria deaths (97% of global deaths) in African Union Member States in 2023. 76% of these deaths were children under the age of five.
This brief, rhythmic video uses a simple, memorable narrative to raise awareness of the dangers of malaria, emphasising how a mosquito bite can lead to serious health problems. The story follows someone who experiences malaria symptoms and seeks free testing and treatment, emphasising the importance... of early diagnosis and prompt medical care. The video's engaging message encourages viewers to avoid risks, get tested and receive appropriate treatment to prevent malaria from worsening.
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Diabetes poses an increasingly serious health challenge in Africa. Currently, 25 million adults aged 20–79 are living with diabetes, and this figure is projected to increase by 142% to 60 million by 2050 — the highest regional increase worldwide. However, 73% of cases remain undiagnosed, and hea...lthcare spending is the lowest worldwide at just USD 10 billion (1% of global expenditure). In 2024, diabetes caused 216,000 deaths and had a significant impact on maternal health, affecting 1 in 7 births due to hyperglycaemia during pregnancy. Nigeria, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have the highest case loads. Without urgent intervention, the diabetes burden will continue to grow, putting further strain on already limited health systems.
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Tanzania has an estimated 2.9 million adults with diabetes, 35% of whom are undiagnosed, and over 22,000 people living with type 1 diabetes. While the 2023 Universal Health Insurance law aims to improve access to care, only 15% of people are insured. Over 700 clinics provide diabetes care and offer ...free insulin to children and young adults. However, challenges remain regarding insulin availability, diagnostics, patient education and the healthcare workforce. Community engagement, training and policy advocacy are essential for improving diabetes management and achieving universal health coverage.
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As we approach World Asthma Day on the May 2, 2023, we reflect on the theme “ Asthma Care for All”. Prevalence of Asthma is increasing amongst children, adolescents and adults. Under-diagnosis, underutilization of inhaled corticosteroids, inaccessibility of treatment, and unaffordability of medi...cines are amongst the challenges that low-middle income countries are faced with. This commentary seeks to highlight the challenges, the resources available and to suggest recommendations that can be implemented to improve asthma care for all and reduce burden of asthma in Africa.
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The article "Non-communicable diseases, injuries, and mental ill-health in Africa: the role of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention" examines the role of the Africa CDC in addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), injuries, and mental health across the continent. It highlights ho...w Africa CDC, originally focused on communicable disease response, has expanded its mandate to include NCDs and mental health, driven by the high mortality and morbidity associated with these conditions.
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Based on an increasing body of evidence pointing at the positive impact that social assistance has had in Malawi, the region and beyond, government is encouraged to continue investing in and supporting the expansion and comprehensiveness of social protection programmes in both rural and urban areas,... ensuring they effectively target and adequately address needs and vulnerabilities across the lifecycle, in line with the Malawi National Social Support Programme (MNSSP II) and Vision 2063. In addition, Government and Development Partners are encouraged to further the integration between social protection, the humanitarian and the disaster risk management sectors in response to shocks and stresses, through the roll out of a fully shock-sensitive social protection system.
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This report is one of the first major products of the newly established Precision Public Health Metrics unit of the UCN cluster of the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The report presents national trends in communicable and non-communicable disease burden and control in the WHO African region. It tra...cks progress made with respect to disease burden reduction, elimination and eradication. It also highlights major emerging threats, opportunities and priorities in the fight against commu- nicable and non-communicable diseases in the region. It covers the period 2000-2022, but for some indicators, information is available only up to 2021.
The report shows the number of reported cases for malaria and vaccine preventable diseases (meningitis, measles, yellow fever, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, and polio); disease incidence due to HIV, tuberculosis and four major noncommunicable diseases (cardiovas- cular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respira- tory diseases).
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As part of efforts to celebrate World Asthma Day (WAD), May 2, 2023, and reduce the burden of asthma in Nigeria, the Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) has advocated education of asthma patients and carers as an integral part of asthma care to achieve optimal control of symptoms and exacerbation.
This study investigated occupational risk factors and exposure–response relationships for airway disease among health workers (HWs) exposed to cleaning agents in two tertiary hospitals in South Africa and Tanzania.
Previous studies have demonstrated an association between asthma or respiratory... symptoms and exposure to broad categories of cleaning-related exposures in healthcare settings. However, few studies have identified the specific cleaning agents responsible for asthma and other health outcomes. Products used for medical instrument cleaning and disinfection such as glutaraldehyde, orthophthalaldehyde (OPA) and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) have been implicated in the causation and exacerbation of work-related asthma (WRA) and upper airway outcomes such as rhinitis.
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The main aim of this paper is to present the current situation of children with disabilities in the Republic of Namibia, with special regard to their educational chances and influence of cultural beliefs on their lives. Namibia has a law, which entitles education for all its citizens. Despite numero...us legislative acts which should have increased the educational chances of Namibian children with disabilities, their real situation is completely different and depends on various factors, including the infrastructure of the schools, teacher competencies, their attitudes towards students, the small number of special and integrated schools as well as an insufficient amount of money transferred for the education of the children. The paper discusses all of the above factors and provides practical implications, which would improve the situation of children with disabilities in Namibia.
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