“We define migrants as workers, as displaced people, as asylum seekers, and they are a huge presence across the world, for all kinds of reasons. And of course, they are human beings: they’re our neighbours, our families, they are people that our children know from school, and they’re affected the way all of us are affected by this during this… Read More

Amidst a deluge of information and with more and more people being confined to their homes, it is not surprising that children are also feeling anxious.  And although they might find it difficult to understand what they are seeing online or on television, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) points out that “they can be particularly vulnerable to feelings of anxiety,… Read More

Millions still need life-saving UN support, reminds humanitarian official A senior UN humanitarian official issued a reminder on Tuesday, that millions of vulnerable people are still relying on the Organization’s life-saving assistance to survive. Speaking to UN News in Geneva, Jens Laerke, Deputy Spokesperson at the UN’s humanitarian coordination office, or OCHA, said that some of the countries affected by… Read More

Women and girls continue to bear the brunt of the crisis, struggling to survive and care for traumatized children, as the conflict enters its 10th year, said the agency. Some 960,000 are estimated to have been displaced since December, 80 per cent of whom are women and children, and approximately 25,000 of whom are currently pregnant.  Severe disruption to health services  Reproductive… Read More

The WHO has repeatedly decried a lack of urgency on the part of many countries when it comes to testing, isolation and contact tracing (i.e. carefully monitoring people who are in close contact with someone who has been infected). In his Monday briefing, Tedros acknowledged the rapid escalation in social distancing measures worldwide, which include many more school closures, the… Read More

In an email to all UN staff as the weekend began, the Secretary-General António Guterres, emphasized that the Organization “remains open for business”, but “our work will be done from different locations, using different technologies”. The #COVID19 pandemic is a crisis that affects everyone. We must all play our part by showing solidarity with the most vulnerable – the elderly, the sick,… Read More

In the face of a health crisis unlike any other in our lifetimes, said the Secretary-General, it is natural to feel anxious, worried and confused. The most vulnerable in society are also the most affected, and the social and economic fallout will affect most of us for months to come. However, “this is a time for prudence, not panic. Science,… Read More

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking during his regular update on the new coronavirus disease, one day after the new designation was announced.  “Let me be clear: describing this as a pandemic does not mean that countries should give up.  On the contrary, we have to double-down”, he said.  “This is a controllable pandemic. Countries that decide to give up on fundamental public health measures may end up with a larger… Read More

1) What’s the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic? Before Wednesday’s WHO announcement, the COVID-19 outbreak was described by the UN health agency as an epidemic, meaning that it has been spreading to many people, and many communities, at the same time. Labelling the spread a pandemic, indicates that it has officially spread around the world, and is also a reflection of… Read More

Speaking in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted that the fact that the term was being used did not mean that the virus had the upper hand. “It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do”, he said, urging Governments to pursue containment and isolation measures to prevent the virus… Read More