ReliefWeb

Overview

• This weekly bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 44 events in the region. This week, two new events have been reported:
  Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Namibia and measles in Uganda. This week’s edition also covers key ongoing events, including:

  • Dengue fever in Seychelles
  • Malaria in Burundi
  • Cholera in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Cholera in the United Republic of Tanzania
  • Hepatitis E in Chad
  • Humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia
  • Humanitarian crisis in South Sudan

• For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

• A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed.

• Major challenges include:

  • The escalation of cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the North-Kivu Province, is a major concern. The protracted cholera outbreak is taking place within the context of a severe humanitarian emergency, which needs to be addressed holistically.

  • The outbreak of measles in the densely populated Kampala capital city, Uganda poses a serious public health threat to the vulnerable peri-urban population.