WHO & Regional Offices [to 11 June 2016]

Safe blood transfusions save lives in South Sudan
10 June 2016 — In places with ongoing conflict, like South Sudan, safe blood transfusions are a life-saving necessity. In the run up to World Blood Donor Day, 14 June 2016, this story highlights the importance of giving blood. The theme of the Day is “Blood connects us all”, and one of its aims is to create wider public awareness of the need for regular blood donation while inspiring those who have not yet donated blood to do so.

Four countries stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV or syphilis
8 June 2016 – WHO congratulates Thailand and Belarus for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and syphilis. Likewise, WHO applauds Armenia for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and the Republic of Moldova for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of syphilis. A critical factor for country success has been the integration of maternal and child health programmes with sexual health, reproductive health and HIV services.
Read the statement

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Highlights
Eliminating lymphatic filariasis
June 2016 — Maldives and Sri Lanka have eliminated lymphatic filariasis, a disease that was crippling people for decades, forcing them to lead a life of stigma, discrimination and poverty. However, there are still over 1 billion people living in over 50 countries that still have lymphatic filariasis.

End of the most recent Ebola virus disease outbreak in Liberia
June 2016 — It has been 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in Liberia tested negative for the disease for the second time. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.

Nearly 2 million people vaccinated against yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
June 2016 — A total of 1 947 567 people have been vaccinated against yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The vaccination campaign began on 26 May 2016, and many people have rushed to be vaccinated, including people from districts not targeted for vaccination.

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Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 10 June 2016, vol. 91, 23 (pp. 296–304)
Contents
297 Epidemic focus: Cholera
298 Pneumococcal meningitis outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa
302 Influenza vaccine response during the start of a pandemic report of a WHO informal consultation held in Geneva, Switzerland 29 June – 1 July 2015

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Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
:: 8 June 2016 – Human infection with avian influenza A(H5N6) virus – China

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:: WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: African national regulatory agencies and ethics committees agree to harmonise practices to strengthen clinical trial oversight
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10 June 2016 – Heads of national regulatory agencies and national ethics committees from across Africa have agreed to harmonise their practices to strengthen regulatory oversight of clinical trials.

At the end of a two-day extraordinary meeting of the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, consensus was reached to expand AVAREF’s scope and membership as well as to promote collaboration, harmonization of regulatory systems and best practices across the continent. This will be accomplished through a new governance structure that will help provide the foundation for the future African Medicines Agency which is scheduled to be launched in 2018.

The World Health Organization (WHO) established the AVAREF in 2006 to address the increased number of clinical trials, limited infrastructure, limited expertise and unclear operating models in African countries. The Forum is comprised of the National Regulatory Agencies (NRAs) and National Ethics Committees of 23 countries targeted for clinical trials of HIV, Malaria and TB vaccines.

“As a network of regulatory authorities and ethics committees, AVAREF has over these years strengthened the capacity of countries in Africa to regulate clinical trials, particularly of vaccines and has contributed to access to important vaccines such as the conjugate meningitis A vaccine, thereby helping to significantly reduce epidemics of meningitis”, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, in a speech read on her behalf at the landmark event.

“Despite its success, the network still faces some challenges. The time has come for a new vision and blueprint for AVAREF which takes into account the rapidly evolving global and regulatory environment, as well as the opportunities presented by new initiatives”, she added.

Currently African countries face significant regulatory challenges including the increased circulation of sub-standard/spurious/falsely labeled/falsified/counterfeit products, lack of technical expertise and capacity within individual NRAs and Ethics Committees, among others.
Similarly product developers face challenges associated with disparate application requirements.

In an effort to address these challenges, participants unanimously agreed to expand the existing AVAREF with a new vision to address evolving global and regulatory challenges. The new AVAREF will be a pan-African network to provide robust clinical trial oversight and enhance other regulatory functions to increase access to safe and effective medical products such as medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for the African population. It will also facilitate increased efficiency and build capacity of its membership.

In his remarks, Dr Vincent Ahonkai, Senior Adviser for Regulatory Affairs, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) noted that this vision is a game changer in the continent’s regulatory environment. “We are living in an era of cooperative, collaborative networks, and strategic alliances. Building an efficient clinical trial platform is a core component of access to quality health products for Africa. AVAREF aims to build that platform and is a welcome initiative that will benefit the citizens of Africa,” he said.

Speaking to reporters at the event, Dr Thomas Nyirenda, Director at the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) said: “Alignment, harmonization and expansion of the scope of AVAREF taking into account other regional initiatives on the African continent is timely and will complement the efforts of EDCTP which has an expanded mandate to fund all phases of clinical trials for products against targeted diseases”.

Over 70 participants attended the meeting, including delegates from Member States, Regional Economic Communities, African Union Commission, NEPAD Agency, product developers, development partners and technical experts.

:: WHO declares the end of the most recent Ebola virus disease outbreak in Liberia – 09 June 2016

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WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: Latin America and the Caribbean approaching half-way mark toward goal of 100% voluntary blood donation (06/10/2016)

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WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Thailand is first country in Asia to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis
07 June 2016

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WHO European Region EURO
:: One nurse’s quest to track down TB on the eastern edge of Greenland 10-06-2016
:: WHO validates elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in Armenia, Belarus and the Republic of Moldova 08-06-2016
:: Fighting TB in Greenland 07-06-2016

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WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Kuwait supports insulin-dependent Syrians 8 June 2016
:: “We came with nothing, we have nothing”: thousands flee Fallujah as fighting intensifies
6 June 2016
:: Egypt’s deworming campaign targets 2 million school-age children June 2016

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WHO Western Pacific Region
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