Regional Health Security: IGAD launched the $31.9m PREPARE project to strengthen pandemic preparedness across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, with WHO leading implementation and IFRC delivering support, using a One Health approach focused on cross-border early warning, lab capacity, and trained emergency response teams. Polio Response: Ministers of Health from Djibouti and neighbors reaffirmed plans to end variant poliovirus transmission in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, stressing stronger surveillance and synchronized cross-border action amid ongoing immunity gaps and outbreaks. Medical Tourism Push: Ethiopia says it wants to become a regional medical tourism hub by upgrading tertiary care and using AI-driven diagnostics, citing growing patient flows from Somalia, Djibouti and northern Kenya and calling for modern infrastructure and reliable medicines. Neglected Disease Treatment: WHO and Gilead renewed a five-year partnership to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), including donations of AmBisome vials and support to expand diagnosis and treatment access, with a sharper focus on East Africa and added support for Djibouti. Snakebite Risk: A WHO-led study warns climate-driven habitat shifts may increase human encounters with venomous snakes, with millions of cases and tens of thousands of deaths and disabilities each year.