UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to reduce its food and cash assistance for refugees in Eastern Africa by up to 30 per cent, the agency has said, voicing fears that the reductions could worsen in the coming months unless urgent additional funding is received in time.  Read More

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reminded participants that so far, more than 170 countries have expressed interest in joining the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility.  It is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and WHO.  “I urge those countries that have not yet joined COVAX to do so by tomorrow’s deadline for submitting your commitment… Read More

Secretary-General António Guterres informed a High-level Ministerial meeting, that there were more than 2,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yemen, and with war having “decimated the country’s health facilities”, the need for a negotiated political settlement to end the conflict is more urgent than ever. Unabated conflict He recalled his personal attachment to the country, which dates back to his… Read More

“No country, hospital or clinic can keep its patients safe unless it keeps its health workers safe,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.  Towards that end, to ensure health workers have the safe working conditions, training, pay and respect they deserve, the UN health agency released the Health Worker Safety Charter, on Thursday, coinciding with the World Patient Safety Day. … Read More

Globally, the number of children living in poverty soared to nearly 1.2 billion – a 15 per cent increase since the pandemic hit earlier this year, according to a technical note on impact of COVID-19 on child poverty, issued on Thursday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the NGO Save the Children.  Although the analysis paints a dire picture… Read More

According to the September update of the UN Comprehensive Response to COVID-19, no country has been spared; no population left unscathed.  Among other things, the update outlines the steps needed to save lives, protect societies and recover better while pointing the way to addressing future shocks, above all from climate change, and overcoming the universal inequities. Three-point response UN Secretary-General… Read More

“The outbreak remains out of control”, Secretary-General António Guterres declared in his press conference ahead of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) High Level Week, noting that soon one million lives will be “lost to the virus”.    Recognizing that many pin their hopes on a vaccine, he said, “let’s be clear: there is no panacea in a pandemic”.    “A vaccine alone cannot solve this crisis, certainly not in the near term”, stressed the world’s top diplomat. “We need to massively expand new and existing… Read More

Joining the heads of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at a press conference on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus outlined that since the start of the COVID pandemic, understanding its effects on children has been a priority.   “Nine months into the pandemic, many questions remain, but we are starting to… Read More

The fifth edition of the UN’s Global Biodiversity Outlook report, published by the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), provides an authoritative overview of the state of nature worldwide.  The report notes the importance of biodiversity in addressing climate change, and long-term food security, and concludes that action to protect biodiversity is essential to prevent future pandemics.  Wake-up call The study… Read More

A World in Disorder, issued by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), an independent monitoring and accountability body which prepares for global health crises, (GPMB), notes that the coronavirus has killed close to a million people, impacting health systems, food supplies and economies. “We can no longer wring our hands and say something must be done”, said Tedros Adhanom, Director-General… Read More