WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 52: 23 - 29 December 2017 (Data as reported by 17:00; 29 December 2017)

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 52 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

• Humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Cholera in Zambia
• Listeriosis in South Africa

For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed.

Major challenges include:

• The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to deteriorate, and the neighbouring country of Uganda has experienced a major influx of people as a result of the crisis.
• A concerted effort by the international community is needed to address the root causes of the conflict and alleviate the suffering of the people.
• The cholera outbreak in Zambia continues to be of major concern, particularly in light of the dense population and poor water and sanitation infrastructure in many affected areas. Targeted interventions involving relevant sectors need to be swiftly implemented to halt disease transmission and reduce the risk of mortality.