Category: Development

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that the Emergency Committee meeting will mark three months since members agreed that the new coronavirus disease was an international global health emergency. “In the three months since the Emergency Committee last met, WHO has worked day in, day out to sound the alarm, support countries and save lives”, he said. The Emergency Committee consists… Read More

“We cannot afford hostilities which would surely lead to another surge in displaced vulnerable communities”, Geir O. Pedersen said via video-teleconference. “We could not afford this scenario before the pandemic; the price could only be higher now”. Dozens reported killed in Afrin Just yesterday, a bomb detonated in a crowded market on the country’s Turkish border in the north-western city… Read More

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) fear these young lives will suffer devastating nutritional and health consequences as a result of the crisis. During #COVID19 school closures, the world’s most vulnerable children are missing out on more than education. For millions of children in fragile countries, school is a place of safety?️, the promise of… Read More

The COVID-19 taskforce initiative follows a direct request to WHO from UN Secretary-General António Guterres to coordinate the Organization’s response to the new coronavirus. Demand 200 times greater than normal It comes amid unprecedented global shortages of critical supplies, skyrocketing prices and export bans, said Paul Molinaro, Chief, Operations Support and Logistics, WHO Health Emergencies Programme. “The demand has obviously… Read More

One year after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was removed from power, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that the promise of development, democracy, justice and peace, is now being threatened by acute resource constraints.  Moreover, the already-grim picture is further exacerbated by a combination of ongoing unilateral sanctions, international institutions’ failure to provide debt-relief and a deficit… Read More

“The safety and health of our entire workforce is paramount today”, underscored ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. Without adequate safeguards that meet the strict occupational safety and health criteria needed for bringing workers back, countries risk a resurgence of the virus, according to the UN’s labour agency.  However, it noted, that by putting the necessary measures in place, the risk of a… Read More

In his latest update on the crisis, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that the pandemic has put polio vaccination campaigns on hold, while some countries have scaled back or even shut down routine immunization services. Solidarity. Solidarity. Solidarity. — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 27, 2020 “Every year, more than 116 million infants are vaccinated, or 86% of all… Read More

Making its call at the start of the 2020 edition of World Immunization Week, UNICEF said on Saturday that millions of children are in danger of missing life-saving vaccines against measles, diphtheria and polio due to disruptions in immunization service as the world rushes to slow the spread of COVID-19. Last year, over 13 million children didn’t receive any vaccines.… Read More

In a scientific brief issued on Friday, the UN health agency said there was no proof that one-time infection could lead to immunity, and “laboratory tests that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in people…need further validation to determine their accuracy and reliability.” Earlier today we tweeted about a new WHO scientific brief on “immunity passports”. The… Read More

The virtual launch of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, saw participation from all corners of the planet to boost commitment and support for the production of  diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to save lives from an unprecedented enemy. Heads of State who took part included the Presidents of France,  South Africa, Costa Rica, Spain and Rwanda. “A world free of COVID-19… Read More