Day: July 10, 2022

From January 1 to July 7, 2022, 7,892 confirmed cases, including three deaths, were reported in 63 Member States from five World Health Organization (WHO) Regions. The 3 fatal cases were reported from Nigeria (1) and the Central African Republic (2).

As of July 7, 2022, 82% (6,496 cases in 34 countries) of the confirmed cases were registered in the European Region; 15% (1,184 cases in 14 countries) in the Region of the Americas, 2% (173 cases in 8 countries) in the African Region, <1% (24 cases in 4 countries) in the Western Pacific Region, and <1 % (15 cases in 3 countries) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

During the last seven days, a 41.6% increase in the number of cases reported globally was observed. During the same period, in the African Region, the increase was 82%, in the Western Pacific Region 60%, in the Americas Region 57%, and in the European Region 38%.

78% of confirmed cases globally correspond to men between 18 and 44 years of age (7 cases have been registered in those under 18 years of age in countries of the African and European Regions). 98% of cases were identified as men who have sex with men (MSM) and of these 41% are HIV positive. 47% of the cases indicated that they had previous exposure to the disease during social events with sexual contact.

Of the 1,110 cases with available information, 113 are health workers. Whether the infection in these cases was caused by occupational exposure is under investigation.

Source: World Health Organization

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in partnership with the Kenyan government, yesterday launched the Health Emergency Hub, to enhance response to health emergencies in Africa.

A statement from the WHO released in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, said, the hub will lay the foundation for a robust response to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks unfolding in the continent.

Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Mutahi Kagwe, were among high profile dignitaries who attended the ground breaking ceremony for construction of a hub to handle Africa’s health emergencies, that took place in Nairobi.

“The Hub will improve the capacity of African countries to prepare, detect and respond to health emergencies, support resilient health systems and strengthen regional and global health architecture,” said Tedros.

Statistics from WHO say that, the African region experiences over 100 health emergencies annually, more than any other region in the world, while COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the continent’s lethargic emergency preparedness.

Less than 10 percent of African countries have workforce required to prepare, detect and respond to public health risks, says WHO, adding that, the new hub will help train 3,000 elite emergency responders, across the continent.

The broader aim of the hub is to ensure each country in Africa has at least one integrated team of emergency experts, who can be deployed within 24 hours of a national health crisis, says WHO.

The Kenyan government will allocate 12.14 hectares of land, besides contributing 31 million US dollars, towards setting up of the health emergency hub and construction of office space to host 120 WHO staff.

The emergency hub will be maintaining stockpiles of medical and logistics supplies, and station WHO staff, to ensure quick deployment to health emergency hotspots in the continent.

In addition, the hub will be central to the implementation of WHO Africa’s flagship initiative for health security, that aims to ensure that one billion Africans are better protected from health emergencies by the end of 2025.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK