XUNICEF News and Views

Rita Palma Leader of Anti-Vax Group My Kids, My Choice Vaccine skeptics are already casting doubt on one for the coronavirus. But it doesn't exist yet. By cbsnews.com 3 min View Original A coronavirus vaccine is still months or years away, but groups that peddle misinformation about immunizations are already taking aim, potentially eroding confidence in what could be humanity's best chance to defeat the virus. In recent weeks, vaccine opponents have made several unsubstantiated claims, including allegations that vaccine trials will be dangerously rushed or that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, is blocking cures to enrich vaccine makers. They've also falsely claimed that Microsoft founder Bill Gates wants to use a vaccine to inject microchips into people - or to cull 15% of the world's population. Vaccine opponents in the U.S. have been around for a long time. Their claims range from relatively modest safety concerns about specific va

Refugee camp image wins food photo contest By bbc.com 2 min View Original K M Asad has been named Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2020 for her image of children queuing for food at a vast Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. More than one million people live in the refugee camp, recently been placed in lockdown amid the Coronavirus pandemic. "This moving image really speaks to our times," awards founder and director Caroline Kenyon says. "The world is in the grip of Covid-19 - and normal life, whatever that may be, has stopped for all of us. "These Rohingya refugee children remind us of the fragility of life, that our need for food for survival connects us all around the world - we are all the same." After judges sifted through 9,000 entries from more than 70 countries the winners, were announced online via a livestream event. Here are some of the competition category winners, with descriptions by the photographers. Bring Home the Harve

Interesting material....Fouad

LEXOPHILES "Lexophile" describes those that have a love for words, such as "you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish," or "To write with a broken pencil is pointless." An annual competition is held by the New York Times to see who can create the best original lexophile. This year's winning submission is posted at the very end. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery. If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down. I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me. Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils? When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble. When chemists die, they barium. I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me. I changed my iPad's name to Titanic. It's syncing now. England has no kidney bank, but it do

This is an excellent critique of the Green Movement and illustrates the hypocracies that it engenders...also very troubling because there are no simple solutions to the gradual deterioration of the Planet by Humans.....something that is finally depressing !!!  Fouad Disponible gratos pour les 30 prochains jours seulement IL VA Y AVOIR UNE IMMENSE AUDIENCE POUR CE DOCUMENTAIRE PRODUIT PAR Michael Moore et réalisé par l'environnementaliste Jeff Gibbs - alors vaut mieux se presser car ça pourrait jammer. COVID-19 - premier pas de la planète sur le chemin de la grande destruction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE Le plus important est le message de Sheldon Solomon, psychologue social à 50 min - en tous cas, c'est le message que je donnerais itou.

Are local and international aid worker disparities worsening under COVID-19? By Andrew Green devex.com 7 min View Original A local health worker with a Rohingya refugee at a clinic in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. Photo by: Peter Biro / European Union / CC BY-NC-ND BERLIN — As it became apparent how dangerous the COVID-19 pandemic would be, not just to the Rohingya refugees crowded into the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, but also to the humanitarians working there, Naomi requested her organization, an international NGO working among crisis-affected communities, fly her home. They did, covering the cost of her last-minute flight to the United States in late March. Her Bangladeshi colleagues did not receive the same treatment. If they had homes away from Cox’s Bazar, they were free to shelter there, but they would have to make their own arrangements and travel at their own expense. If they remained in their positions and fell ill, they were instructed to call a government hotline to fin

Did you receive and respond to the request that you update your contact information in the XUNICEF contact list?  Here it is again. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to fill and return it as soon as possible. Lire en français https://bit.ly/2yJoIQf Leer en español https://bit.ly/3aEg0Qw Dear Members of XUNICEF The Executive Director of UNICEF has called for our help in UNICEF's efforts against the impact of COVID-19.   UNICEF may need our help at all levels of their work - global, regional and country.  In order for XUNICEF members to help, we need to update the list of former staff, the countries where they live, and how to contact them.   Please fill the attached form, even if you have recently sent us similar information.  Note that you must click the 'Submit' button and your information will be automatically collected so long as you are online.   Please also copy and send this form on to any former UNICEF staff or staff of a UNICEF national committ

See the video of the full meeting by clicking here . The Microsoft Teams program will ask you to sign in.  You can click on 'Join anonymously'. The link above may not work from phones.  If you have problems, try clicking here instead. Be patient, as the video is hosted on Microsoft Teams and may take time to load. Note also the presentation of slides presented by the Pension Fund Secretariat showing how members can check the status of investments at any time.

It has no explanation but it's beauty in pure state.  Ángel Haro https://www.facebook.com/1639300266/posts/10217118105098298?d=n&sfns=mo - singing Veinte Años

Why the Head of the UN Pension Fund Is Gone by George G. Irving and Sugiyama Iutaka Read original on PassBlue In the middle of the coronavirus epidemic, the United Nations spokesperson announced that Sudhir Rajkumar resigned from his job as representative of the secretary-general for investment of the assets of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund, effective March 31, 2020. The abruptness and lack of explanation in the March 29th announcement came as a surprise and indicated a serious problem. In fact, this was just the last in a series of warning signs that had emerged recently regarding the fund. These signs have suggested a long-term threat to the fund, despite the reassurance by Secretary-General António Guterres in April of his commitment that pensions will continue to be paid in full. In the last three years, the top four positions in the fund — the chief executive officer of pension entitlements (or, CEPA, now split into two positions), the head of Office of Investment Management a

How the coronavirus is impacting the Middle East By Emile Nakhleh responsiblestatecraft.org 6 min View Original The coronavirus has struck Middle Eastern countries in different ways, relatively moderate in some and more severe in others. According to the April 19 Johns Hopkins University (JHU) report, confirmed cases have ranged from 80,000 in Iran and Turkey with related deaths of 5,000 and nearly 2,000 — the highest in the region — to supposedly one case and zero deaths in Yemen. In the Arabian Peninsula countries, JHU reports that Saudi Arabia has the highest number of positive cases and deaths in the region with over 8,000 cases, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 6,300, Qatar with 5,000, Bahrain and Kuwait with nearly 1,800 each, and Oman with nearly 1,200 cases. In the Levant, Israel leads the pack with nearly 13,000 cases followed by Iraq with over 1,500 cases. Lebanon has nearly 700 followed by Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza with over 400 each, and Syria with 38 cases

For the first time IMR raised in the press via a via covid deaths - interesting perspectives Sree The question confronting us: What’s the cost of saving lives? By Chetan Bhagat timesofindia.indiatimes.com 4 min View Original If you are easily offended, or incapable of discussing unpleasant choices, such as lives vs livelihood, which we face right now, I’d suggest you do not read this article. As we head into the fifth week of the lockdown, with little clarity on what lies ahead, it is nonetheless important to discuss the consequences of our current choices. We have currently chosen to lock down our entire country to protect ourselves from the dangerous Covid-19 virus. The Indian lockdown is being regarded as one of the toughest in the world. Case growth in India has been modest so far. It is fair to say that the lockdown is working to a large extent and we have saved some lives. And since lives have no price on them, all this is worth it. The logic is sound. If lives are priceless, the

1) Divided we live, United we die. 2) A sneeze, in time...infects nine. 3) All that sniffles has caught a cold 4) Home stay is the best policy. 5) One man's mask is another man's poison 6) When things get cough, the smart get going. 7) An unmasked guy is the Covid's workshop. 8) As you spray, so shall they reap. 9) Snot is weaker than sanitizer 10) Better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick 11) Curiosity killed the doc. 12) Distancing is the best part of Valor. 13) Don't count your chickens before next March 14) Every crowd has a carrier lurking 15) Every cough has its spray. 16) A cough hits nine lives 17) Ignorance is a kiss 18) Necessity is the mother of infection 19) Out at night is out of mind 20) Rome wasn't infected in a day 21) The grass is cleaner on your side of the fence 22) There is no safety in numbers 23) When the cough is away, you can come out and play. 24) When in Rome. die as the Romans do 25) Two Wongs didn't make this thing ,right ? 26)

Dear Odette, Thanks for keeping us up to date on the latest news and, in particular, the last one regarding pensions. I have received the message below (addressed to former UNICEF staff) indicating that a portal has been set up under iSeek called EarthMed to help UN staffers in these trying times of the Covid 19 pandemic.  I have tried to access EarthMed without success as it requires inputting an organizational password.  Subsequently, I have been advised that the portal is only destined for active staffers. In view of the SG's recent message expressing his understanding and compassion to retirees regarding the health of the Pension Fund, I am surprised that this portal is not accessible to retirees who belong to the "at risk" age group - as does the SG himself.  I wonder if you have any news about whether the portal will be made accessible to retirees or if the staff unions intend to take this matter up with UNHQ to ensure that all UN staffers, whether active or not, ha

UK coronavirus response utterly hypocritical, says UN poverty expert By Robert Booth Social affairs theguardian.com 2 min View Original Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty, at a press conference in February. Photograph: Chema Moya/EPA The United Nations’ poverty expert Philip Alston has attacked the UK government’s coronavirus response as “utterly hypocritical” after successive administrations implemented policies of austerity and public-sector cuts. The UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, who in 2018 issued a blistering attack on Conservative welfare policy, also said that globally “the most vulnerable have been short-changed or excluded” by official responses to the disease, which had claimed over 203,670 lives by Sunday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. “The policies of many states reflect a social Darwinism philosophy that prioritises the economic interests of the wealthiest while doing little for those who are hard at work providing essential

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-LkR6QkTHA  

Hope you are managing ! Jim

After US funding cuts, WHO likely to end most Yemen health services By Bryant Harris al-monitor.com 2 min View Original As Yemen stares down the prospect of a devastating COVID-19 crisis, the World Health Organization is likely going to suspend about 80% of the health care services in the war-torn country by the end of the week, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande said today. The massive drawdown comes after the United States slashed the lion’s share of its humanitarian assistance to Yemen last month in the face of the Houthi rebels' onerous aid restrictions. Shortly thereafter, President Donald Trump suspended American funding for the WHO. “We are facing a funding crisis of gargantuan proportions,” Grande said at a virtual panel hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She noted that “donors have lost confidence” on account of the Houthi aid restrictions in northern Yemen. “Authorities, particularly in northern Yemen, have recognized there’s a pr

'Another pandemic': In Latin America, domestic abuse rises amid lockdown By Lucila Sigal reuters.com 4 min View Original BUENOS AIRES/SANTIAGO/MEXICO CITY/LA PAZ (Reuters) - Lockdowns around Latin America are helping slow the spread of COVID-19, but are having a darker and less-intended consequence: a spike in calls to helplines suggests a rise in domestic abuse, in a region where almost 20 million women and girls suffer sexual and physical violence each year. In cities from Buenos Aires to Mexico City, Santiago, São Paulo and La Paz, families and individuals have been confined in their homes in an unprecedented way, often only allowed out for emergencies or to shop for essentials. Prosecutors, victim support teams, women’s movements and the United Nations all say this has caused a rise in domestic violence towards women. They cite increasing numbers of calls to abuse hotlines. In some countries, like Mexico and Brazil, there has been a rise in formal reports of abuse, while in