Africa & Middle East

The leaders also pledged to protect essential services such as education, routine healthcare, cholera control and measles response efforts as countries confront the growing public health threat.

Once fully operational, the hub is expected to enable access to treatment for more than 2.6 million patients across a population of more than 1 billion people.

The report estimates that improved interventions could help over 1.2 million adults transition out of obesity by 2031.

The hospital conducted the procedures in collaboration with Pentaprism Medical Africa through a skills transfer and clinical training programme designed to strengthen minimally invasive surgical care at the facility.

The initiative integrates Johnson & Johnson’s Polyphonic™ open digital ecosystem with DOH Abu Dhabi and leading technology partners, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and NVIDIA.

Kenya aligned its position with the African regional statement presented by Zimbabwe on behalf of the WHO African Region, reinforcing a continent-wide call for equity at the heart of global health governance and emergency response.

WHO validated the elimination in June 2025, and Kenya made a national announcement in August 2025 before formally receiving the certification in Geneva.

The procedure, carried out in Damaturu, represents the first time such an advanced maxillofacial surgery has been conducted in a state-owned hospital in the region.

The funding comes as health authorities across the continent intensify efforts to contain the rapidly evolving outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.

Authorities also dispatched a team of 35 experts from Kinshasa to reinforce surveillance, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, and community engagement efforts in the affected areas.