On April 25, the amphitheater of the University of São Tomé and Príncipe hosted the international conference commemorating World Malaria Day. The event was honored by the presence of the Minister of the Presidency and Council of Ministers, Parliamentary Affairs and Sustainable Coordination, Lúcio MAGALHÃES, the Minister of Health and Women’s Rights, Ângela COSTA, the WHO Resident Representative, Françoise BIGIRIMANA, as well as the Ambassador of the Popular Republic of China, the Rector of the university of Sao Tome and Principe, representatives of the Cape Verde connected online, and many partners, professionals, civil society and students. 

Malaria has major implications and costs to the health sector and has a negative impact on the country’s tourist attractiveness and economy of Sao Tome and Principe.

São Tomé and Príncipe is part of the WHO’s E2025 global initiative, which aims to eliminate malaria in 25 countries by 2025. According to the epidemiological data recorded over the last three years, the country has seen an increase in cases, a situation that compromised the goal of elimination by 2025. 

However, the country is committed to eliminate malaria learning from the experience of Cape Verde, a country that has received WHO certification as a malaria-free country in January 2024.

According to the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination, the District of Caué and the Autonomous Region of Príncipe are expected to eliminate malaria by 2027 and become a country malaria-free by 2030 as said the Minister of Health and Women’s Rights, Ângela COSTA.

In fact, Sao Tome and Principe has a number of good practices in malaria program for example it has not registered a single case of death caused by malaria since 2022 up to now. This demonstrates the capacity and successful malaria case management in the country. 

However, the concern is about the increasing number of the past three years. In 2021 the country registered 2,719 cases of malaria, 3,970 in 2022, and 2,348 new cases in 2023. For 2024, up to April the country has already registered 1,700 new cases. 

Among key challenges, the surveillance system remains weak and the national coverage of indoor spraying is below the national target of 80% in many districts such as Água Grande, with 58%, Lembá with 62%, Mé-zochi with 66%.

It is in this context that the World Health Organization in São Tomé and Príncipe in collaboration with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is intensifying its technical support to strengthen vector control, malaria surveillance system, conduct assessment related to population’s behavior towards malaria interventions and therapeutic efficacy of the drugs used to treat malaria.
According to the World Malaria Report, people living in the most vulnerable situations, pregnant women, children under 5, refugees, migrants and displaced people, among others, continue to be disproportionately affected. Climate change and humanitarian emergencies, including natural disasters and conflicts within countries, make populations more vulnerable to the disease and hinder progress and development.

Globally in 2022, more than 249 million cases of malaria and 608,000 deaths were recorded worldwide. The African region represented 85% of malaria deaths globally and had the 20 top countries with the highest burden of malaria in the world. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Sao Tome and Principe.

HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani met on Tuesday HE Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community abroad of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ahmed Attaf, on the sidelines of the 3rd session of the Arab Economic and Cooperation Forum with the countries of Central Asia and the Republic of Azerbaijan held in Doha today.

During the meeting, they reviewed cooperation relations between the two countries and discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, in addition to several topics of common interest.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The State of Qatar.

Nine-year-old Ana Sitoe and Isabel Cossa*, learners at Guava Primary School in Marracuene, Maputo, have both received their first vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) thanks to an immunization drive targeting young girls.

“I was afraid of the needle, but I knew that the vaccine was good for protecting our health against this disease, so that we can play, study, grow up and fulfil our dreams in the future,” Ana says.

The premature mortality rate from cancer in Mozambique is 10.4%, ranking as the eighth highest among more than 184 countries, according to the most recent data available from World Health Organization (WHO).  More than 60% of cases occur among women and over a third were related to cervical cancer (34.6%), followed by breast cancer (12.8%). 

In 2018, WHO issued a call to action for the global elimination of cervical cancer by 2030. Following this call, in the same year, Mozambique developed its HPV vaccination strategy for girls from the ages of nine to 14 years. Due to disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination only started three years 2021. Since the outset, HPV vaccination has been integrated into the routine immunization schedule.

To catch up on lost time, Mozambique made major efforts to reach as many girls as possible and reach high vaccination coverage. The country’s expanded programme on immunization conducted a catch-up campaign in April 2022 when schools opened, to vaccinate eligible girls born in 2012 who had not yet received their first dose of HPV vaccine.

The school-based vaccination programme, in which girls receive two doses in a six-month interval, is complemented by other strategies to reach hard-to-reach girls including using a door-to-door approach, mobile outreach, and vaccination at fixed facilities. Vanessa and Cristina were vaccinated in the first quarter of the year, and like their peers, will receive their second dose during the third quarter.

The country has made good progress over a short period of time. According to administrative data from the Ministry of Health, coverage of the first dose is over 80% and the second dose, 40%. 

Aissa Cutane, a public health technician at the Habel Jafar Health Centre in Marracuene, confirms that the school-based vaccination strategy has been very effective. “It is easier to communicate the benefits to the girls, their families, the local community and local health professionals when you take the service to the target group,” she says.

Once parents have given consent, the health professionals also deliver sensitization messages to the children before they proceed with vaccination. Fernando Chacatane, Vanessa and Cristina’s teacher, considers the coordination between health units and schools to be very advantageous. “Instead of the children and their parents spending a lot of time going to the health units and standing in long queues, the vaccines are delivered quickly and effectively,” he says.

“While the start of HPV vaccination experienced delays, the achievements in the last two years show political will and commitment to the global elimination targets,” says Dr Severin Ritter Von Xylander, WHO Representative in Mozambique. “WHO will support the country to accelerate its actions so that we can eradicate the scourge of cervical cancer among women.”

Both Vanessa and Cristina were counselled to raise awareness of the importance of getting vaccinated against HPV and are now encouraging other unvaccinated girls to do the same. 

“We shouldn’t be afraid of the sting from the needle. The vaccine is good and prevents HPV, so we’d rather grow up well and healthy,” says Isabel.

*Names changed to protect identity

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Mozambique.

The Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan Sunarko on Tuesday (30/5) said that the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) to Sudan continues to make various efforts to encourage and facilitate the promotion and marketing of Indonesian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises UMKM products to enter the market Sudan and countries in the surrounding African region.

In this regard, the Indonesian Embassy expressed its readiness to support promotional activities and market expansion for superior UMKM products from Tenggamus Regency, Lampung Province, which had previously sent various samples and samples of UMKM products for product displays at the Indonesian Embassy in Sudan.

A number of mainstay and superior products from UMKMs in Tenggamus – Lampung Regency have the opportunity to enter the Sudanese market and surrounding countries, including ground coffee products, honey, spice products, candied nutmeg, brown sugar, processed banana foods. chips) and various other UMKM products.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Khartoum, Sudan.