Health

  • 23 Sep 2016

    Building synergy in the West African health sector

    Country: 
    Côte d'Ivoire
    Guinea
    Liberia
    Sierra Leone
    Topics: 
    Health
    Members: 
    ECOWAS
    Body: 
    On 16 September, Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is also the current ECOWAS Chairwoman, met in Monrovia with Xavier Crespin, the Director General of the West African Health Organization (WAHO). President Sirleaf said that it is important to have more coherence between the health plans of individual West African countries and the plans of regional and international organisations. Read on
  • 07 Sep 2016

    Rethinking drug control policy

    Topics: 
    Health
    Opinion: 
    Opinion
    Body: 
    The region is not only a transit point for global drug traffickers, but it is also a booming consumer market and a production area. The anti-narcotics measures that have been implemented in the region so far seem ill adapted to the problem. In this article, Adeolu Ogunrombi, Regional Director of the West Africa Drug Policy Network, says that discussions about reforming the region’s drug policies must start and should be spearheaded by courageous leaders. Read on
  • 05 Apr 2016

    Guinea and Liberia report new Ebola cases

    Country: 
    Guinea
    Liberia
    Topics: 
    Health
    Body: 
    Several new cases of Ebola were detected in Guinea in March and in Liberia in early April, just weeks after the end of a resurgence of the epidemic in Sierra Leone. These outbreaks, which had been anticipated by WHO because of the persistence of the virus in some survivors, are a real test for health authorities in the countries. Read on
  • 24 Mar 2016

    Nearly 30% of the West Africans lack access to an improved water source

    Topics: 
    Agriculture & Fisheries
    Environment
    Health
    Infrastructure
    SWAC: 
    SWAC
    Body: 
    Nearly 30% of the West African population does not have access to an improved drinking water source. While disparities between rural and urban areas are decreasing, significant gaps remain. Among the Sahelian countries, only Burkina Faso and Mali have achieved Target C of MDG 7 relating to access to safe drinking water; no Sahelian country has achieved the goal relating to access to basic sanitation services. Read on
  • 22 Mar 2016

    World Water Day 2016: Water and employment

    Topics: 
    Health
    Environment
    Agriculture & Fisheries
    Members: 
    CILSS
    Body: 
    Held every year on 22 March, World Water Day is dedicated this year to the theme of water and employment. In West Africa as elsewhere, water is a job creator (building and maintenance of infrastructure, distribution, etc.) and is necessary for agriculture (irrigation) as well as for urban development. As a public good, targeted by Sustainable Development Goal 6, access to water and sanitation leads to indirect positive effects on employment, due to its role in the development of human capital. Read on
  • 12 Feb 2016

    Realizing the demographic dividend in Africa

    Country: 
    Ghana
    Topics: 
    Demographic trends
    Gender & Youth
    Health
    Body: 
    African leaders are gearing up to realize the demographic dividend in Africa. John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, opened the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Accra on 8 February 2016. The five-day conference gathered some 1 000 high-level experts, including African women and youth associations and other civil society representatives. Read on