WHO & Regionals [to 4 July 2015]
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WHO validates elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in Cuba
News release
30 JUNE 2015 ¦ GENEVA ¦ WASHINGTON – Cuba today became the first country in the world to receive validation from WHO that it has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
“Eliminating transmission of a virus is one of the greatest public health achievements possible,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “This is a major victory in our long fight against HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and an important step towards having an AIDS-free generation” she added.
Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS: “This is a celebration for Cuba and a celebration for children and families everywhere. It shows that ending the AIDS epidemic is possible and we expect Cuba to be the first of many countries coming forward to seek validation that they have ended their epidemics among children.”…

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The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 3 July 2015, vol. 90, 27 (pp. 337–348) includes:
:: Introduction of inactivated polio vaccine and switch from trivalent to bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine worldwide, 2013–2016
:: Performance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance and incidence of poliomyelitis, 2015.

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GIN June 2015 pdf, 1.47Mb – 3 July 2015

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:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: WHO Regional Director for Africa calls for greater commitment to improve access to medicines in the Region
Brazzaville, 2 July 2015 – As members of an EU/WHO/ACP partnership* to improve access to quality medicines meet in Brazzaville, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, praised progress made and called for greater commitment to ensure that Africans have access to the quality, affordable medicines they need.
:: WHO and AUC take stock on joint efforts to improve health on the continent
Brazzaville, 30 June 2015 – High ranking officials from the African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are meeting in Brazzaville to take stock of their collaborative efforts to improve the health of people in Africa…

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: WHO validates Cuba’s elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis (06/30/2015)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
No new digest identified.

WHO European Region EURO
:: Second meeting of the Small countries initiative in Andorra: implementing the life-course approach vision 03-07-2015
:: What to do in heatwaves: public health advice 02-07-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
No new digest identified.

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: Scaling-up HIV testing is critical to end the AIDS epidemic in Asia-Pacific
HIV/AIDS programme managers and community groups join hands to strengthen and expand HIV testing
Joint news release of WHO and UNAIDS
MANILA, 02 July 2015 – Ten national HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection (STI) programmes, civil society and development partners in the Western Pacific Region have joined forces to ensure that everyone living with HIV knows their status and is able to access HIV treatment. This push for expanded HIV testing coverage came during a recent two-day meeting organized by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Manila, the Philippines…