UN urges ‘global solidarity, shared responsibility’ against pandemics, marking World AIDS Day

In a message, Secretary-General António Guterres urged the world to not lose sight of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. 

“Despite significant successes, the AIDS emergency is not over. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) still infects 1.7 million people each year and kills some 690,000,” he said. 

Mr. Guterres highlighted the impact of inequalities, leaving the vulnerable most affected, a fact evidenced by the coronavirus pandemic. 

“COVID-19 has been a wake-up call to the world. Inequalities in health affect all of us. No one is safe unless we all are safe,” he added, stressing: 

“Wealth should not determine whether people get the health care they need. We need a COVID-19 vaccine and HIV treatments and care that are affordable and available to everyone, everywhere.” 

‘Health is a human right’ 

The UN chief reiterated that health must be a top investment priority to achieve universal health coverage. He called for an end stigma and discrimination, putting people at the centre and grounding AIDS and COVID-19 responses in human rights and gender-responsive approaches. 

“On this World AIDS Day let us recognize that, to overcome COVID-19 and end AIDS, the world must stand in solidarity and share responsibility,” said Mr. Guterres. 

‘Strength within communities’ 

In a separate message, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), highlighted that people within communities working together “inspired by a shared responsibility to each other” helped achieve several victories against HIV. 

That strength is needed “more than ever” in the fight against HIV and COVID-19, she added. 

“In responding to COVID-19, the world cannot make the same mistakes it made in the fight against HIV, when millions in developing countries died waiting for treatment,” stressed Ms. Byanyima 

Equitable access to vaccines against COVID-19 must be ensured, she continued, calling on companies to “openly share their technology and know-how” and to waive their intellectual property rights for vaccines to be produced at the scale and speed needed “to protect everyone” and get the global economy back on track. 

Commemorated every year on 1 December, World AIDS Day brings together people from around the world to raise awareness, remember those who have passed on, and celebrate victories, such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. 

New COVID-19 infections fall globally for first time since September; WHO chief urges ‘extreme caution’

Updating reporters during his regular briefing from Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the global decline as fragile: brought on by falling cases in Europe, thanks to the difficult but necessary measures countries put in place in recent weeks.

“Gains can easily be lost,” the agency chief said, noting that COVID-19 is still on the rise in most other world regions, with an attendant increase in deaths.

Holidays – no time for complacency

He cautioned against complacency, especially with the holiday season approaching in many cultures and countries. Being with family and friends is not worth placing anyone at risk. “We all need to consider whose life we might be gambling with in the decisions we make.”

To be sure, the pandemic will change the way people celebrate, Tedros said. It will be important to follow local and national guidelines. For many, this is a season for staying home, avoiding crowded shopping centres, or ideally, making use of online shopping if possible. “Avoid gatherings with many different households and families coming together,” he said.

If travelling is essential, take precautions, he said: maintain distance from others and wear a mask in airports and train stations, as well as on planes, trains and buses. Cary hand sanitiser or wash hands frequently with soap and water. If feeling unwell, “don’t travel,” he insisted.

Disrupted services, increased risks for people living with HIV

For millions, COVID-19 is only one health they face, he said. People living with HIV also may have an increased risk of severe disease or death from COVID-19, he said.

A record 26 million people are on antiretroviral treatment – but the pace of increase has slowed, leaving 12 million people who are living with HIV without treatment. “12 million is big,” he assured.

A WHO survey of 127 countries earlier this year found that more than one quarter reported partial disruption to antiretroviral treatment.

However, with support from WHO, the number of countries reporting disruptions in HIV services has declined by almost 75 per cent since June. Only nine still report disruptions and only 12 report a critically low stock of antiretroviral medicines.

Such successes are mainly due to countries implementing WHO guidelines, he said, including providing longer antiretroviral prescriptions for 3 to 6 months, so patients can avoid health facilities. WHO also has worked closely with manufacturers and partners to ensure adequate supply of treatment.

Innovation, Innovation, Innovation

Moreover, he said countries also have introduced adaptations and innovations during COVID-19.  In Africa, for example, many have built their testing system for COVID-19 on the existing lab infrastructure for HIV and tuberculosis. In Thailand, the Government has maintained pre-exposure prophylaxis services and tele-health counselling for men who have sex with men. And many countries have introduced more self-testing for HIV to support self-care.

WHO is urging all countries to maintain these innovations as part of the “new normal”, Tedros said, and to help expand testing and treatment.

With Worlds AIDS Day approaching on 1 December, he called for preserving the “incredible” gains made over the past 10 years: New HIV infections have declined by 23 per cent since 2010, and AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 39 per cent.

Hope above all

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that in the face of an urgent health threat, the world can come together in new ways to defeat it,” he assured.

The world can defeat the pandemic using existing tools and the vaccines now in the pipeline. “The most important thing is, we need to have hope,” he said. And solidarity to work together.

COVID-19 threatens global progress against malaria, warns UN health agency

According to the World Malaria Report, released on Monday, the situation is particularly concerning in high-burden countries in Africa. 

The UN health agency urged nations and health partners to step up the fight against malaria, with better targeting of interventions, new tools and increased funding. 

“It is time for leaders across Africa – and the world – to rise once again to the challenge of malaria, just as they did when they laid the foundation for the progress made since the beginning of this century,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

“Through joint action, and a commitment to leaving no one behind, we can achieve our shared vision of a world free of malaria.” 

Though preventable and curable, malaria continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year. According to WHO, nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of the disease and most cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.  

Malaria is transmitted through the bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes and controlling the vector – such as by using mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying – can help prevent and reduce transmission of the disease. 

A plateau ‘in progress’ 

The WHO report found that in 2019, malaria cases globally numbered about 229 million, an annual estimate that has remained virtually unchanged over the last four years. Last year, the disease claimed about 409,000 lives, compared to 411,000 in 2018. 

As in past years, the African region accounted for more than 90 per cent of the overall disease burden. The region has made much progress since 2000, reducing its malaria death toll by 44 per cent – from an estimated 680,000 to 384,000 – but the pace has slowed in recent years, particularly in countries with a high disease burden. 

A funding shortfall at both the international and domestic levels poses a “significant threat” to future gains, according to WHO. In 2019, total funding reached $3 billion, far short of the global target of $5.6 billion, resulting in critical gaps in access to proven malaria control tools. 

Sustain, expand programmes 

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as an additional challenge for essential health services worldwide. Though most malaria prevention campaigns were able to move forward without major delays, WHO voiced concerns that even “moderate disruptions” in access to treatment could lead to a considerable loss of life. 

For instance, a 10 per cent disruption in access to effective antimalarial treatment in sub-Saharan Africa could lead to 19,000 additional deaths, while disruptions of 25-50 per cent in the region could result in an additional 46,000 and 100,000 deaths, respectively. 

According to WHO, ensuring access to malaria prevention, such as insecticide-treated nets and preventive medicines for children, also supported the response to COVID-19 by reducing the number of malaria infections and, in turn, easing the strain on health systems. 

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, underlined the need to ensure that malaria programmes are sustained and expanded. 

“COVID-19 threatens to further derail our efforts to overcome malaria, particularly treating people with the disease. Despite the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on African economies, international partners and countries need to do more to ensure that the resources are there to expand malaria programmes which are making such a difference in people’s lives,” she said. 

Global HIV toll likely to be far higher owing to COVID-19, warns UNAIDS

In its appeal, the specialised UN agency UNAIDS warned that the pandemic has pushed the world’s AIDS response even further off track, and that 2020 targets are being missed.

It urged countries to learn from the lessons of underinvesting in healthcare and to step up global action to end AIDS and other global health emergencies.

Human cost

Citing new data showing the pandemic’s long-term impact on global HIV response, UNAIDS said that there could be up to nearly 300,000 additional new HIV infections between now and 2022, and up to 148,000 more AIDS-related deaths.

The failure to invest in HIV responses has come at a terrible price Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS

“The collective failure to invest sufficiently in comprehensive, rights-based, people-centred HIV responses has come at a terrible price,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Implementing just the most politically palatable programmes will not turn the tide against COVID-19 or end AIDS. To get the global response back on track will require putting people first and tackling the inequalities on which epidemics thrive.”

Although countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Botswana and Eswatini have achieved or even exceeded targets set for 2020, “many more countries are falling way behind”, UNAIDS said in a new report, entitled Prevailing against pandemics by putting people at the centre.

Get on track to ending AIDS

The UNAIDS document contains a set of proposed targets for 2025 that are based on the actions of countries that been most successful in overcoming HIV.

Specifically, the goals focus on a high coverage of HIV and reproductive and sexual health services, together with the removal of punitive laws, policies, stigma and discrimination.

“Far greater investments” in pandemic response will be needed along with “bold, ambitious but achievable HIV targets”, UNAIDS said.

“They put people at the centre…the people most at risk and the marginalized,” it added. “Young women and girls, adolescents, sex workers, transgender people, people who inject drugs and gay men and other men who have sex with men.”

If these targets are met, the world will be back on track to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the agency maintained.

A child infected with HIV every 100 seconds, new UN report reveals

Prevention efforts and treatment for children remain some of the lowest amongst key affected populations, and in 2019, a little less than half of children worldwide did not have access to life-saving treatment, UNICEF said in a new report on Wednesday. 

Nearly 320,000 children and adolescents were newly infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and 110,000 children died of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) last year. 

“Children are still getting infected at alarming rates, and they are still dying from AIDS. This was even before COVID-19 interrupted vital HIV treatment and prevention services putting countless more lives at risk”, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. 

Life-saving HIV services hit by COVID-19  

According to UNICEF, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened inequalities in access to life-saving HIV) services for children, adolescents and pregnant mothers everywhere, and there are serious concerns that one-third of high HIV burden countries could face coronavirus-related disruptions. 

“Even as the world struggles in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, hundreds of thousands of children continue to suffer the ravages of the HIV epidemic”, said Ms. Fore.  

Data from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), cited in the report, shows the impact of control measures, supply chain disruptions, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the redeployment of healthcare workers on HIV services. 

Challenges remain 

Paediatric HIV treatment and viral load testing in children in some countries fell by 50 to 70 per cent, and new treatment initiation by 25 to 50 per cent in April and May, coinciding with partial and full lockdowns to control the novel coronavirus. 

Health facility deliveries and maternal treatment were also reported to have reduced by 20 to 60 per cent, maternal HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation by 25 to 50 per cent, and infant testing services by approximately 10 per cent. 

Though the easing of control measures and the strategic targeting of children and pregnant mothers have successfully led to a rebound of services in recent months, challenges remain, and the world is still far from achieving the global 2020 paediatric HIV targets, said UNICEF. 

Regional disparities 

Despite some progress in the decades-long fight against HIV and AIDS, deep regional disparities persist among all populations, especially for children. 

While the Middle East and North Africa region recorded 81 per cent paediatric ART coverage, only 46 per cent and 32 per cent were covered in Latin America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, respectively. 

The South Asia region recorded 76 per cent coverage, Eastern and Southern Africa 58 per cent, and East Asia and the Pacific 50 per cent. 

COVID cases surge amid growing threat from antimicrobial resistance – WHO chief 

“Across Europe and North America, hospitals and ICU units are filling up or are full”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said at a regular press briefing in Geneva. 

While sharing “more good news from vaccine trials, which continues to give us hope of ending the pandemic”, he upheld the need to continue to “use the tools we have to interrupt the chains of transmission and save lives”.  

Unwinding ‘century of medical progress’ 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the “intimate relationship between humans, animals and the planet we share”, the WHO chief said. 

“We cannot protect and promote human health without paying attention to the health of animals and the health of our environment”. 

This is particularly relevant when considering antimicrobial resistance, according to Tedros, who called it “one of the greatest health threats of our time”. 

Antimicrobial resistance threatens the efficacy of the antibiotics that are key in combatting HIV, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and many other illnesses. 

And while antimicrobial resistance may not seem as urgent as a pandemic, it is not only just as dangerous but threatens to “unwind a century of medical progress and leave us defenseless against infections that today can be treated easily”, he warned. 

Combatting resistance 

Aligning with World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which kicked off on Wednesday, the WHO chief launched a new report – along with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health  – that examines international rules governing antimicrobial practices, and identifies gaps in regulations governing their use on humans, animals and plants. 

The report, based on data from 136 countries, reveals that while almost 90 per cent of States have national action plans for antimicrobial resistance, only 20 per cent have identified funding for their implementation. 

“To help address that gap, together we have established a trust fund to support low and middle income countries to develop a truly ‘One Health’ approach to addressing antimicrobial resistance”, Tedros asserted, thanking Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom for $13 million in funding – the first round of support for eleven countries, and to generate more global coherence in their use. 

New leadership group 

Against the backdrop that increased political commitment at the highest levels of government was “one of the most important ways” to achieve that goal, the WHO chief announced the One Health Global Leaders Group, which will bring together prominent leaders from government, the private sector and civil society organizations “to advocate for urgent action to combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance”. 

It also involves participants from agriculture, health, development and other relevant areas “to maintain urgency, public support, political momentum and visibility of the antimicrobial resistance challenge”.

Remdesivir no COVID-19 silver bullet, says UN health agency

A World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline Development Group (GDG) panel of international experts made the recommendation in the BMJ – the weekly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by the British Medical Association – as part of so-called “living guidelines” to manage the coronavirus and help doctors make better decisions in consultation with patients. 

“Living guidelines are useful in fast moving research areas like COVID-19 because they allow researchers to update previously vetted and peer reviewed evidence summaries as new information becomes available”, said WHO, in a press release on the findings. 

Evidence-based decisions  

Remdesivir has received global attention in treating severe coronavirus cases and is increasingly being used for hospitalized patients. But its role in clinical practice has remained uncertain. 

WHO’s recommendation is based on new evidence comparing the effects of several drugs on treating the virus and includes data from four international randomized trials involving more than 7,000 COVID-19 inpatients. 

After reviewing the evidence, the WHO GDG expert panel, which includes four patients who have had the coronavirus, concluded that the intravenously administered Remdesivir “has no meaningful effect on mortality or on other important outcomes for patients, such as the need for mechanical ventilation or time to clinical improvement”. 

Arguing its use 

The panel acknowledged that the certainty of the evidence is low and did not prove that Remdesivir has no benefit; but rather, “there is no evidence based on currently available data that it does improve important patient outcomes”, according to the WHO release. 

However, the GDG supported the continued enrolment of patients into Remdesivir evaluation trials to determine whether more substantial evidence can be obtained, especially with regards to specific groups of patients.  

The WHO press release also cites a feature article linked in the panel’s BMJ report, which says that the full story of Remdesivir will not be understood until its manufacturer, Gilead, releases full clinical study reports. 

In the meantime, reports the journalist who wrote the feature, Jeremy Hsu, alternative treatments such as widely available corticosteroid, dexamethasone, that has been proved to reduce mortality among some severely-ill COVID-19 sufferers, are “now impacting discussions about Remdesivir’s cost-effectiveness”, in the words of the WHO press release.

In the face of ridicule: one woman’s fight to bring sanitation to a Nepali village

Born into the privilege and comforts of a high-caste Brahmin family in Nepal, Ratna Khawas’s life changed drastically when she got married to someone outside her social class, in 1968.

She and her new husband moved to his home village in Belbari, where there were no toilets or handwashing facilities. “I got the shock of my life,” she said. “I had to go to the open field for defecation, as there were no toilets in the whole community.” That shock set her on what became a lifelong quest to improve sanitation for her and her neighbors.

Growing up in a wealthy family in Dharan, 40 miles west, and a world away from Belbari, young Ratna was encouraged to pursue her education. In 1962, she became the first young woman in the region to obtain her “School Leaving Certificate”, having passed a notoriously difficult exam, and went on to become a teacher at Kali High School. That’s when she met and fell in love with Kami Lal Khawas, a young man from an underprivileged community who had a good education.

“I was so much in love with him, as he was an educated person,” said Ratna. “I felt that was enough for me and we got married,” she said, and followed him back to his village as his wife.

‘I felt that my world had collapsed’

Everything about her new family was different: their habits, their cuisine, their culture. The adjustment was made even more difficult because her father-in-law refused to allow her to continue teaching. For him, a strong advocate of a patriarchal society, it was unimaginable for women in the community to step outside their household for any kind of income-generating work.

“I felt that my world had collapsed. I did not know what to do. I had nowhere to go, as the doors of my parents’ house were closed to me,” says Ratna, recalling the consequences of marrying outside her caste.

The most glaring challenge confronting Ratna in her new life was the complete absence of sanitation and hygiene facilities, which she knew were important for good health and personal dignity. Dharan, where she had lived as a girl, was a developing city where most of the houses had toilets. With its lack of such facilities, Belbari seemed a backward place to her.

“I tried to convince my husband to build a toilet in his house, but he refused to go against his family’s tradition,” she recalls. Ratna was frequently ridiculed by neighbors as an outsider and as someone “always talking about faeces and urine.”

A safe space

In 1975, after her father-in-law’s death, Ratna’s husband allowed his wife to participate in a women’s empowerment programme. After her training, she became a public health professional for the Belbari constituency, working for the family-planning division of the Ministry of Health.

Over the next ten years, Ratna visited 250 households in the community, educating women about reproductive health, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, and other health topics.

Still, sanitation remained her top priority. Faced with opposition from her extended family, she was unable to build a toilet at home. In 1989, she rebelled and left the family home with her four children. They settled on a piece of land that was owned by her husband, where they built a latrine and then a home.

It wasn’t long before her husband joined her. Then her nephews started building toilets for their homes. Slowly, as they could afford it, other members of the community also began to install latrines, because they had learned that access to a toilet gave them a safe space to manage their sanitation needs.

Pushing the last mile

Life in Belbari now is a far cry from the situation Ratna found when the newlyweds arrived in the village over half a century ago. Today, with Ratna’s help and inspiration, nearly all of Belbari’s 250 households have toilets.

“My only wish now is to build toilets for the seven remaining households,” says Ratna. Her efforts have received financial support from Nari Bikash Sangh (Women’s Development Forum) and local government and technical support from UN-Habitat in Nepal, which has advocated for an end to open defecation. With the support of the office, 600,000 improved toilets have been built across the country and, in the past 10 years alone, UN-Habitat has contributed to nearly one-third of all the territory that is now free of open defecation.

“The biggest achievement was pushing the last mile,” says Sudha Shrestha, Chief Technical Advisor at UN-Habitat Nepal. “This was in the region of Tarai, where the total toilet coverage was only 13 percent. Together with the government, we achieved 100 percent within four years.”

Despite her success so far, Ratna is not resting on her laurels, with so much that still needs to be done to improve sanitation, and end open defecation. “I will consider the campaign a success once the senior citizens and middle-aged men make it a habit to use toilets regularly,” she says. With support from the UN, Ratna’s dream may be realized the world over.

Ensure safe and hygienic sanitation for all, UN urges, marking World Toilet Day

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the situation “unacceptable” from a moral, economic and health standpoint: “We must ensure everyone, everywhere has access to safe and hygienic sanitation services that provide privacy and dignity.” 

World Toilet Day, observed annually on 19 November, was established by the UN General Assembly in 2013, recognizing the importance of sanitation for development and how it impacts the environment.  

Safe access to clean toilets is also vital to achieving target 6.2 of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6), on adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all. It calls for an end to open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations, by 2030. 

Sanitation and climate change 

This year, World Toilet Day is being commemorated under the theme of “Sustainable sanitation and climate change.” 

The theme draws attention to the threats to sanitation systems from worsening impacts of climate change, such as floods, droughts and rising sea level. Such events can damage toilets, septic tanks and treatment plants, resulting in contamination of drinking water sources, and spread human waste into communities and croplands, causing deadly diseases. 

Ensuring sustainable sanitation that is resilient to climate change, is also vital in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, as toilets, combined with clean water and good hygiene, form a strong defence against COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks.  

Water and sanitation – a human right 

UN independent human rights experts also issued a joint appeal, calling on governments to ensure that no one is deprived of access to water and other basic supplies, and to prioritize universal access to water and sanitation, as human rights. 

The need is even more pressing this year, with the coronavirus pandemic affecting communities everywhere, and the fact that one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is practicing proper personal hygiene by washing hands with soap and water – is out of reach for many. 

“We take this occasion to appeal, once again, for the governments around the world to implement or reinstate the policy of prohibiting water cuts as well as other basic supplies and to guarantee a minimum essential amount of water and essential basic supplies to those who face difficulties to pay for those services and supplies”, the experts said in a joint statement. 

“We reiterate that the minimum core of the human rights to water and sanitation must be guaranteed at all times and under all circumstances”, highlighted the experts.  

The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Future of an entire generation at risk, as COVID-19 pandemic drags on

In a report, released on Thursday ahead of World Children’s Day, UNICEF outlined “dire and growing” consequences for children as the coronavirus pandemic lurches towards a second year. 

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a persistent myth that children are barely affected by the disease. Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.  

“While children can get sick and can spread the disease, this is just the tip of the pandemic iceberg. Disruptions to key services and soaring poverty rates pose the biggest threat to children. The longer the crisis persists, the deeper its impact on children’s education, health, nutrition and well-being. The future of an entire generation is at risk.” 

Averting a ‘Lost COVID Generation’ 

As of 3 November, in 87 countries with age-disaggregated data, children and adolescents under 20 years of age accounted for 1 in 9 of COVID-19 infections, or 11 per cent of infections reported by those countries, UNICEF said in its report Averting a Lost COVID Generation. 

While children can transmit the virus to each other and to older age groups, there is strong evidence that, with basic safety measures in place, the net benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of closing them, UNICEF added, noting that schools are not a main driver of community transmission, and children are more likely to get the virus outside of school settings. 

Alarming revelations 

In addition, using data from surveys across 140 countries, the report found that COVID-related disruptions to critical health and social services for children pose the most serious threat to children, with about a third of the countries witnessing a drop of at least 10 per cent coverage for health services, including routine vaccinations and outpatient visits.  

Coverage of nutrition services for women and children, including school meals and vitamin supplementation programmes also saw sharp declines, as did home visits by social workers. 

Globally, more than 570 million students – 33 per cent of the enrolled students worldwide –were affected by country-wide school closures in 30 nations (as of November 2020). The number of children living in multidimensional poverty is estimated to have soared by 15 per cent – an additional 150 million children by mid-2020. 

‘Prioritize children’s needs’ 

Against the backdrop of the concerning revelations in the report, UNICEF called on governments and partners to take key actions to respond to the crisis.  

The UN agency called for ensuring that all children can learn, including by closing the digital divide. It also urged nations to guarantee access to nutrition, safe drinking water, as well as health, hygiene and sanitation services. Vaccines should also be made affordable and available to every child. 

Alongside, children and young people must be provided with mental health support and protected against violence and neglect, and efforts should be stepped up to  support children and their families living through conflict, disaster and displacement. 

UNICEF also underlined the need to reverse the rise in child poverty and ensure an inclusive recovery from the pandemic for all. 

“This World Children’s Day, we are asking governments, partners and the private sector to listen to children and prioritize their needs,” urged Ms. Fore. 

“As we all reimagine the future and look ahead toward a post-pandemic world, children must come first.” 

Silent Pandemic: Overuse renders antimicrobials less effective – UN agriculture agency

Antimicrobial medicines, including antibiotics, have long been overused and misused, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which added that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is “spreading further and faster every day”.  

AMR happening now 

Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections, explained the World Health Organization (WHO), and are included in the more encompassing term of antimicrobials. 

While bacteria, not humans or animals, become antimicrobial-resistant, they may infect humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria. 

FAO maintains that if left unaddressed, AMR may force tens of millions more people into extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition. 

“Just like the COVID-19 pandemic, AMR is no longer a future threat”, said FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo. “It is happening here and now, and it is affecting us all”. 

Ripple impacts 

The World Health Organization (WHO) stressed that antimicrobial resistance makes common infections harder to treat and accelerating the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. 

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, posing a global health and development threat. 

The overuse of medicines in humans, livestock and agriculture, as well as poor access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene are some of the factors that have accelerated the AMR threat worldwide, according to WHO. 

FAO added that a lack of AMR regulation and oversight, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animals, and over-the-counter or internet sales that have sparked a boom in counterfeit or poor-quality antimicrobials are also reasons. 

“Around the world people, animals and plants are already dying of infections that cannot be treated – even with our strongest antimicrobial treatments”, stated Ms. Semedo.  

Threatening modern medicine 

WHO has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. 

Latest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is declared over, with lessons for COVID-19  

“This great achievement shows that together we can overcome any health challenge”, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General, wrote in a tweet. 

The outbreak in DRC’s northwestern Equateur Province emerged in early June and caused 130 Ebola cases and 55 deaths.

Vaccinations key

A key part of the response – with potential lessons for the global fight against COVID-19 – was the vaccination of more than 40,000 people at high risk of falling sick from the frequently fatal haemorrhagic disease, the WHO said in a statement. Like one of the COVID-19 candidate vaccines, the Ebola vaccine needs to be kept at super-cold temperatures to keep it from spoiling. 

“Overcoming one of the world’s most dangerous pathogens in remote and hard to access communities demonstrates what is possible when science and solidarity come together,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

‘Transferrable’ to COVID

“The technology used to keep the Ebola vaccine at super-cold temperatures will be helpful when bringing a COVID-19 vaccine to Africa. Tackling Ebola in parallel with COVID-19 hasn’t been easy, but much of the expertise we’ve built in one disease is transferrable to another and underlines the importance of investing in emergency preparedness and building local capacity.”

The response to both diseases involves finding, isolating, testing, and caring for every case and relentless contact tracing. The innovative Ebola response includes special ARKTEK freezers that can store vaccines in the field for up to a week, enabling responders to vaccinate people in areas without electricity.

The Ebola outbreak was the 11th on record in DRC and its spread raised fears that it could reach the capital Kinshasa before being brought under control. The challenge of containing the disease was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by the spread of Ebola cases in remote areas in dense rain forests.

Many affected areas were accessible only by boat or helicopter and had limited telecommunications capacity, and the response was also slowed by a strike among health service providers over pay.

Funding shortage

There was also a shortage of international funding for Ebola, forcing the WHO to turn to emergency funds to support epidemiological and public health interventions.

The outbreak began just as the country was winning a nearly two-year battle with Ebola in the restive eastern part of the country, the world’s second-deadliest outbreak in which 2,280 people died.

David McLachlan-Karr, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in DRC, congratulated the government and health partners on ending the outbreak and said the engagement of communities had made it possible to stop the outbreak quickly. He also hailed the close cooperation between DRC and neighbouring Republic of Congo, which he said had prevented the disease crossing the river.

Learn the lessons

Mr. McLachlan-Karr said DRC’s Government should try to foresee the kind of pitfalls that had hampered the response effort and prevent them from recurring in future response efforts. He said that there was still much to do to, including taking care of orphans and supporting survivors, and there needed to be an efficient and effective system for surveillance and issuing alerts.

The virus was first discovered in 1976 and the worst outbreak on record hit west Africa in 2014-2016. Although that outbreak killed more than 10,000 people, it also gave rise to the development of a highly effective vaccine and several treatments for Ebola virus disease.

Children will need special attention ­– UNICEF

“Though the outbreak is over, children affected by the Ebola epidemic will still require special attention and care, as communities affected begin to return to normal life,” said Edouard Beigbeder, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in the DRC.

The agency has provided care and psychosocial support to hundreds of children whose parents or caregivers have fallen ill or died due to Ebola. Such support is critical for children who are especially vulnerable to isolation, stigma, malnutrition or poverty.

“Throughout the latest epidemic to hit DRC, we have worked with our partners to meet children’s unique physical, psychological and social needs. This includes caring for the wellbeing of surviving parents and family members so that they can better look after their children,” he added.

The agency said that it would continue to reinforce the national health care system to make it more effective in responding to future epidemics. It is also working on programs for Ebola survivors in the DRC.

In addition, UNICEF plans to work with the local health authorities in Equateur to ensure that mothers and children in the areas previously affected by Ebola continue to receive quality essential health care. This includes improving water and sanitation in health centres, promoting hygiene practices in affected communities, provide psychosocial support to Ebola survivors, as well as children affected by the epidemic.

Persons living with disabilities ‘have very special abilities’, UN deputy chief tells young Ghanaians  

Chatting with them at the James Town Café, she was inspired by their thoughts and experiences, and delighted to see how they inspire hope in each other, despite the challenges they face: “When you are alone, look left and look right, and see that the community is there for you”, she said.  

She encouraged them to strive to reach their fullest potential, noting that “persons living with disabilities have very special abilities”. 

Recovering from COVID 

The deputy UN chief also met with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to discuss pandemic recovery, sustaining peace and investing in African youth.   

She commended Ghana for its consistent role in ensuring the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), despite COVID-19 disruptions, and presented a document outlining the UN’s formal commitment to stand with the Government and other partners in support of the West African nation’s pandemic recovery efforts. 

The document also pledges support to the country’s endeavors towards reaching the 17 SDGs by 2030, and in achieving its goal of becoming more resilient and self-reliant. 

As the pandemic has taken a toll on Ghana’s health, economy, education, and agricultural sector, the UN Framework for immediate socio-economic response calls for protecting jobs, businesses and livelihoods and sets in motion a safe path for a more sustainable, gender-equal and carbon-neutral future. 

Free and fair election  

On 7 December, Ghanaians will go to the polls in their eighth general election since 1993 – an achievement that has earned the country kudos for its democratic strength and institutions.  

Ms. Mohammed underscored the importance of free, fair and credible elections administered by strong, confident and reliable electoral institutions.    

During her visit, she met with the leadership of the Electoral Commission (EC) to discuss how the UN can continue supporting the electoral process for the sustenance of peace in the country and, by extension, in West Africa and the continent overall.  

She applauded the EC leadership for enabling an environment conducive to a free and fair election and also shared the concept of youth-manned situation rooms that would task young Ghanaians with disseminating accurate and reliable information over the election period, while also defusing concerns surrounding social media. 

During a meeting with the National Peace Council, she said that “the enthusiasm and expectations of stakeholders and the people of Ghana are very high and [their] voice in keeping the people calm is critical to ensuring peaceful elections”. 

At a press briefing at the end of her visit, the deputy UN chief acknowledged the country’s relative stability, which she said provided a good platform for attracting more investment to aid development and sustainable growth.

New partnership to boost maternal and newborn health in East and Southern Africa

The five-year programme, announced on Tuesday, aims to improve maternal and newborn health in some of the communities with the highest mortality rates in Eastern and Southern Africa. 

It will start in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya, and later expand to other countries in the region. 

“Investing in the health of women and children is a smart investment”, said Mohamed M. Malick Fall, the Regional Director for UNICEF. 

“Indeed, investing in the health of the poorest children and communities saves nearly twice as many lives as equivalent investments.” 

‘Alarming’ mortality rates 

Although the world has witnessed very promising progress in maternal and neonatal health over the past decades, maternal and newborn mortality rates in the Eastern and Southern Africa region remain alarming, according to UNICEF. 

In 2017, roughly 70,000 women there died due to complications during pregnancy and birth, while in 2019, more than 440,000 newborns died in the first 28 days after birth.  

“Our new partnership with Laerdal Global Health will bring investment, research and innovation to help improve the delivery of quality health services”, said Mr. Fall.  

“Additionally, the partnership will seek new solutions to avert preventative maternal and newborn deaths.” 

Scaling-up to save lives 

Together with governments, UNICEF and Laerdal Global Health will provide training for 10,000 health workers, focusing on safe pregnancy and births, by 2025.  

The partners will implement the ‘Helping Mothers Survive and Helping Babies Survive’ training programmes, which are designed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in low-resource settings. 

The trainings are based on simulation methodology and will equip health professionals with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed, said UNICEF.  They also have a “refresher component”, thus ensuring long-term and sustainable capacity building. 

UNICEF will contribute lifesaving equipment for newborns and training of health workers, while Laerdal Global Health will provide educational materials and simulators through the company’s ‘Buy One, Gift One’ scheme for customers in high-income countries. 

In 2012, Laerdal Medical established a ‘Buy One, Gift One’ initiative, “where birth simulators sold in high-income countries support training programmes in low-resource settings”, said Tore Laerdal, Chairman for Laerdal. 

“We look forward to our cooperation with UNICEF where we will use a combination of on-site and remote learning solutions to contribute to scaling-up more efficient training modules that can save lives.”