Category: Development

In an urgent call for countries to prepare better for all catastrophic events – from earthquakes and tsunamis to biological threats such as the new coronavirus – data from the UN Office on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) indicates that wealthy nations have done little to tackle the harmful emissions that are linked to climate threats which make up the bulk of disasters today.  Short odds  “Disaster management agencies have succeeded in saving many lives through improved preparedness and the dedication of staff and volunteers. But the odds… Read More

The country, together with the Republic of Korea and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru, joined the COVAX Facility this week, bringing the total number of participating nations and economies to 171, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced during his regular media briefing on the pandemic.   “The world is eagerly anticipating the results of trials of vaccines against COVID-19, which… Read More

Painting a gloomy picture of under-investment in health, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his video message to senior ministers: “Universal Health Coverage is not only essential to end the pandemic, it will also drive progress across all health-related SDGs ”. #COVID19 is eroding decades of progress made towards universal health coverage. We need to invest in stronger health… Read More

A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths, released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), reveals that 84 per cent of these grievous episodes occur in low and lower-middle income countries. The first-ever joint global estimates also point out that stillbirths remain… Read More

Launching his latest policy brief, “COVID-19 and Universal Health Coverage”, Secretary-General António Guterres called on everyone to draw “hard lessons” from the pandemic, for which the world was not prepared.  One of those lessons, he said, “is that under-investment in health can have a devastating impact on societies and economies.”  The pandemic revealed utterly inadequate health systems, yawning gaps in… Read More

Speaking to a special session of the agency’s Executive Board, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 10 countries account for 70 per cent of all reported cases and deaths, and just three countries account for half.    “Not all countries have responded the same way, and not all countries have been affected the same way”, he told the 34 members. … Read More

Announcing the findings on Monday, the UN health agency also said that the pandemic has increased the need for the vital services.  “COVID-19 has interrupted essential mental health services around the world just when they’re needed most,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, calling on world leaders to “move fast and decisively to invest more in life-saving mental health programmes… Read More

To be sure, countries are also seeing some two million new COVID-19 cases each week, WHO Executive Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at his latest press briefing in Geneva. Varying country contexts Describing four varying national situations, he said those countries that jumped on the virus quickly have avoided large outbreaks.  Others had large outbreaks but were able to… Read More

Authorities declared a three-month state of emergency in early September after the worst flooding in 30 years.  To date, more than 860,000 people have had houses destroyed or damaged and more than 120 people have died.  Some 560 schools and thousands of health facilities have also been affected, compromising essential services to communities, especially in North Darfur, Khartoum, West Darfur and Sennar, which account for 52 per cent of all people affected.   #Sudan… Read More

In the Introduction, Secretary-General António Guterres said the international community should reflect on “our shared progress as well as…our vision and values”. He highlighted some of the Organization’s accomplishments, such as putting in place vital agreements that codify and protect human rights, setting ambitious goals for sustainable development, and charting a path towards a more balanced relationship with the natural… Read More