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Status report on 2023 in the WHO African Region road safety

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

This report highlights the increasing public health burden of road traffic injuries and fatalities in the Region. Road traffic deaths are becoming a significant problem in Africa, rising at a faster rate than in any other region. Fatalities increased by nearly one fifth in the decade from 2010 ... more

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Air quality index Central and West Africa Fact Sheet 2022

Greenstone, M.; C. Hasenkopf and K. Lee University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (2022) C1

In Central and West Africa, regions together comprising 27 countries and 605 million people, the average person is exposed to particulate pollution levels that are more than 4 times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline of 5 μg/m³1. If these particulate pollution levels persist, averag... more

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African Union and the Africa CDC’s Africa Regulatory Taskforce has endorsed the Emergency Use Authorisation for COVID-19 Vaccine BIBP/ Sinopharm

African Union; Africa CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) CC

24 September 2021. The vaccine has been authorized by the Chinese National Regulatory Authority (NRA) – the National Medicinal Product Administration (NMPA) – as well as other regulatory authorities. Because WHO has granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for the COVID-19 Vaccine BIBP/ Sinopharm, th... more

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Eradicating yaws in Africa: challenges and progress

Tchatchouang, S. The Lancet Microbe (2022) CC

Yaws, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) of the skin caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, is targeted in the latest WHO NTD Roadmap for eradication by 2030. In January, 2022, WHO published a manual that outlines the key activities that Ministries of Health in endemic count... more

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Palliative Care E-learning Course for Healthcare Professionals in Africa

Ecancer Education (2014) CC

ecancer, Cardiff University and the African Palliative Care Association have developed an online course in palliative care contextualised for African healthcare professionals. The course has been created through the IAEA Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy, Virtual University of Cancer Control a... more

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User manual for WHO cervical cancer prevention and control costing tool: HPV vaccination module (‎C4P-HPV tool)

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide in 2018, with 570,000 new cases and 311,000 deaths occurring annually.T he highest incidence rates are in Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, SubSaharan Africa, Western Africa, Melanesia, and Middle Africa . It also ranks as the leadin... more

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African Union and the Africa CDC’s Africa Regulatory Taskforce has endorsed the Emergency Use Authorisation of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine (Vero Cell [Inactivated]) – CoronaVac

African Union; Africa CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) CC

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Rethinking the Top-Down Approach to Schistosomiasis Control and Elimination in Sub-Saharan Africa

Onasanya A. et al. (2021) CC

Front. Public Health 9:622809 The control and elimination of schistosomiasis have over the last two decades involved several strategies, with the current strategy by the World Health Organization (WHO) focusing mainly on treatment with praziquantel during mass drug administration (MDA). However, th... more

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Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — Clinical Manifestations and Management

Daniel S. Chertow, Christian Kleine, Jeffrey K. Edwards, Roberto Scaini, Ruggero Giuliani, and Armand Sprecher (2014)

The New England Journal of Medicine has a perspective on Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — Clinical Manifestations and Management, written by authors who have cared for more than 700 patients with EVD between August 23 and October 4, 2014, in the largest Ebola treatment unit in Monrovia, Liberi... more

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Responding to the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Africa
recommended

African Union; Africa CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) CC

In an effort to limit transmission and achieve pandemic control on the continent, Africa CDC is proposing the following measures to be taken by all Member States: Remain vigilant Countries should adapt or adopt best practices, strategies, guidelines and recommendations proposed by the Africa CDC... more

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Buruli ulcer laboratory network and new external quality assessment programme for PCR-based diagnosis in the WHO African Region. Terms of reference

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

A total of 18 laboratories from 13 countries participated in the four rounds of EQA: 10 laboratories from eight African endemic countries, four of which participated in all four rounds and three in three rounds. The overall results showed that the median performance of these laboratories improved ov... more

'In Control' South Africa - A play about health, stigma and attitudes.

Acacia Study Group YouTube (2022) CC

This video is of a community performance from a theatre play, called 'In Control' South Africa. Our international group of respiratory health researchers found that young people with asthma can feel stigmatised or misunderstood. We therefore developed ths play together with a UK young people's theat... more

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Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 05, January 29 to February 11, 2024

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

During Epidemiological week (Epiweek) 5, 20 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambiq... more

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All about COVID-19. Advice for communities in Africa (English)

Picturing Health (2020) C1

How does coronavirus (COVID-19) spread? What are the symptoms? Who is at risk? How can you protect yourself and your family? This short animation answers these questions. Local language versions are being prepared. To download for mobile phones and WhatsApp choose SD options. For laptop and desktop ... more

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An update on rabies in South Africa, 2021

National Institute for Communicable Disease NICD (2021) CC

As of 14 December 2021, a total of 19 laboratory-confirmed human rabies cases has been reported in South Africa for 2021. The cases are from Eastern Cape, KwaZuluNatal and Limpopo provinces. In addition, four probable rabies cases were reported from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces. A pr... more

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Regional Plan of Action for Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness in East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands - Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) operation n° MDR64007

International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (2015)

Situation analysis Description of the disaster An Ebola epidemic that started in March 2014 in Guinea has relentlessly continued to claim lives and to spread to other countries in West Africa. The current Ebola outbreak is the largest in history and the first to affect multiple countries simu... more

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Challenges and Opportunities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in the COVID-19 Response in Africa: A Mixed-Methods Study

Walker, A. et al. (2022) CC

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 9313. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159313. A mixed-methods study, using an online survey and in-depth interviews, was conducted. Participants included Mental Health Focal Points at the Ministries of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) country ... more

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South Africa’s capacity to conduct antimicrobial stewardship

Chetty, S. Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases (2021) CC

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a serious public health threat was globally acknowledged by WHO in 2015, through the launch of the Global Action Plan (GAP). With a limited number of new antibiotics in the developmental pipeline, many countries are in the process of establishing strategies for anti... more

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WHO's Health Emergency Appeal 2023

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

WHO needs US$2.54 billion to provide life-saving assistance to millions of people around the world facing health emergencies. WHO’s Health Emergency Appeal is a consolidation of WHO’s priorities and financial requirements for 2023 to carry out health interventions in emergency and humanitarian r... more

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Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (2025) CC

Africa’s health sector is facing an unprecedented financing crisis, driven by a sharp decline of 70% in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 2021 to 2025 and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities. This collapse is placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems as ODA ...is seen as the backbone of critical health programs: pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, disease control programs are all at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage. Compounding this is Africa’s spiraling debt, with countries expected to service USD 81 billion by 2025—surpassing anticipated external financing inflows—further eroding fiscal space for health investments. Level of domestic resources is low. TThe Abuja Declaration of 2001, a pivotal commitment made by African Union (AU) member states, aimed to reverse this trend by pledging to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to the health sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10% benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7% of their national budgets to health. In addition, only 16 (29%) of African countries currently have updated versions of National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP). These two documents play a critical role in driving internal resource mobilisation. At the same time, public health emergencies are surging, rising 41%—from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024—exposing severe under-resourcing of health infrastructure and workforce. Recurring outbreaks (Mpox, Ebola, cholera, measles, Marburg…) alongside effects of climate change and humanitarian crises in Eastern DRC, the Sahel, and Sudan, are overwhelming systems stretched by chronic underfunding. The situation is worsened by Africa’s heavy dependency with over 90% of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics being externally sourced—leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks. Health worker shortages persist, with only 2.3 professionals per 1,000 people (below the WHO’s recommended 4.45), and fewer than 30% of systems are digitized, undermining disease surveillance and early warning. Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face 2 to 4 million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within. Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks. This is not just a sectoral crisis—it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social, and economic resilience, and global stability. In response, African leaders, under Africa CDC’s stewardship, are advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance. more

Responding to the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Africa recommended

Responding to the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Africa
recommended