XUNICEF News and Views

170 signatories endorse UN ceasefire appeal during COVID crisis By news.un.org 2 min View Original The initiative, prompted by Malaysia, shows that a large majority of nations are now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the global ceasefire call that Secretary-General António Guterres made back in March, when the pandemic was just picking up speed. The statement on Tuesday expressed “deep concern” for those areas of the world where fighting continues, particularly in the midst of the global health crisis. While spotlighting the impact on the world’s most vulnerable, especially women and children, the document reads: “We must muster all our efforts to save lives and alleviate social and economic devastation on our peoples.” Acting collectively The signatories underscored that diplomatic action and collective efforts are needed in the common fight against COVID-19 and reaffirmed the importance of “global unity and solidarity in confronting this scourge”. Against the backdrop of the pand

©news.trust.org Africa's unsung army of women wage war on COVID-19 By Nita Bhalla reuters.com 5 min View Original Note: This is a short excerpt.  Please read the full article by clicking the link above. Poorly paid or not at all, these unsung armies of mostly female community health workers have for years doled out advice and health services to families living in remote villages and urban slums who lack formal support. Recruited and trained by government and charities - they are found from Kenya to Tanzania, Ethiopia to Malawi, Liberia to South Africa - the women go door to door, dispensing advice on everything from family planning to immunisations. Now, as transmission of the new coronavirus spreads, women like Omondi are essential foot soldiers in the war on COVID-19.

Kids use art to tell the story of the coronavirus outbreak By Christina Barron washingtonpost.com 1 min View Original Note:  See below  the full gallery of submissions in this contest on the website of the International Museum of Children's Art in Oslo. Art will be one of the important ways to remember and reflect on the coronavirus pandemic years from now. Because it’s a universal language, art is also a way to connect with people from every corner of the Earth who are affected by the virus. Kids jumped at the opportunity to be part of this visual storytelling in “Kids Paint Corona,” a project dreamed up by the International Museum of Children’s Art in Oslo, Norway, and Die Zeit newspaper in Hamburg, Germany. More than 5,500 young artists revealed what they have been thinking, feeling and doing during the pandemic. The museum is planning an exhibit in the fall. KidsPost readers contributed nearly 140 of those pieces of art. They created scenes about things they missed, such as sp

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LES EFFETS DE LA COVID-19 SUR LES FEMMES ET LES ENFANTS - UN REGARD CRITIQUE SUR LE PLAN MONDIAL ET NATIONAL Par Mohamed Bendriss Alami * Depuis que la Covid 19 a débarqué dans notre pays, le gouvernement sous le leadership de SM le Roi est en action afin de mitiger les effets néfastes de cette pandémie, dont les premiers rebondissements remontent au mois de Décembre 2019 en Chine et le 3 mars au Maroc. Les semaines et les mois passent, et le Monde semblait être paralysé, désorienté et terrorisé par la pandémie Covid 19, notamment à cause de son impact dévastateur sur plusieurs secteurs aussi bien économiques que sociaux. Cette crise d’origine sanitaire a bien montré le rapport ombilical, entre le social et l’économique. Une corrélation qui pourra être appréhendée dans presque toutes les composantes de l’activité humaine, mais cela ne fait pas partie de la présente réflexion. Ici nous allons nous concentrer essentiellement sur l’impact de la pandémie sur une masse critique de la popula

El coronavirus o covid-19 en África por cplatamadmin | Publicado en: Análisis , cooperación , Destacados , INTERNACIONALES , MAGREB , Marruecos , Marruecos | 0 Por Mohamed Bendriss Alami Dimensión global de la pandemia Una de las particularidades de la pandemia —denominada coronavirus o covid-19— es su comportamiento ‘democrático’. Considérese que el virus se ha expandido a todos los países sin importar que sean ricos y avanzados o pobres y menos desarrollados. La gestión de la crisis —qué hacen los países y los gobiernos— es otro asunto. Transcurridas varias semanas de la aparición del virus y su propagación en China, el pasado diciembre (2019) , los países africanos recibieron en cascadas descendentes —desde el norte hacia el sur— las primeras evidencias del virus, poderoso y devastador, con las consecuentes crisis sanitarias y la alteración de la normalidad. La propagación del virus se vio facilitada por las condiciones que brinda el mundo globalizado. Las grandes potencias han

“To control COVID-19, we have to make hand hygiene accessible to all” – UNICEF and WHO By Henrietta Fore unicef.org 3 min View Original – “As the world struggles to cope with a new disease, one of the most effective tools to prevent its spread is also one of the most basic. Hand hygiene has never been more critical, not only to combat COVID-19, but to prevent a range of other infections. Yet, nearly six months since the onset of the pandemic, the most vulnerable communities around the world continue to lack access to basic hand hygiene. “According to our latest data, the majority of people in the least developed countries are at immediate risk of COVID-19 infection due to a lack of hand hygiene facilities. In the 60 highest-risk countries, 2 out of 3 people – 1 billion people in total – lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water at home. Around half are children. “All too often, schools, clinics, hospitals and other public spaces also lack hand hygiene facilities, putting ch

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/connect/globalgoalunite/ Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, join us for performances by Shakira, Coldplay, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Justin Bieber and Quavo, Miley Cyrus, Chloe x Halle, J Balvin, Yemi Alade, Christine and the Queen, and more as we celebrate our campaign to get funding for the development and equitable distribution of COVID-19 therapeutics, tests and vaccines for everyone, everywhere. June 27, at 2 p.m. ET. Dear world leaders,   Coronavirus affects all of us. With no respect for borders, the pandemic has shown just how interconnected our world is, and the need for us to be united in our response. We are all in this together, but COVID-19 has especially affected the poorest and most vulnerable across our world. Our reaction must not reflect that same inequality.   Please work together to urgently develop tests, treatments and vaccines against COVID-19, and ensure they’re available to everyone, everywhere — not just the privileged few. As the virus

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/yemeni-children-face-deadly-hunger-and-aid-shortages-covid-19-pandemic-spreads Video Download the report https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/yemeni-children-face-deadly-hunger-and-aid-shortages-covid-19-pandemic-spreads Millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to ‘the brink of starvation’ due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic – according to a new UNICEF report marking more than five years since conflict escalated in the country. Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and COVID-19 warns that as Yemen’s devastated health system and infrastructure struggle to cope with coronavirus, the already dire situation for children is likely to deteriorate considerably. The report shows that: An additional 30,000 children could develop life-threatening severe acute malnutrition over the next six months, and the overall number of malnourished children under the age of five could increase to a total of 2.4 million –

Global leadership is missing in action economist.com 8 min View Original This is a short excerpt. Please read the full article by clicking the link above.  If that link does not work, click here These upheavals spill over into the diplomatic and security dimensions that are the focus of this special report. Are the UN, and the collaborative global governance it embodies, doomed to be less relevant in a world of great-power competition? It is surely too soon to give up on them. But to retain its clout and character the liberal order needs restored leadership and difficult reforms. The multilateral system has important strengths. One is that it is patently needed. The biggest problems cry out for international co-operation—as the pandemic powerfully illustrates. The world needs to work together on vaccines, on economic recovery and to support the most vulnerable countries. The head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, has said speed

Dear XUNICEF friends, It's been some time since I've written you largely because there was little to report in relation to the pending MOU between XUNICEF and UNICEF/NY. However, new developments have brightened our lives starting with XUNICEF's zoom meeting with Executive Director H Fore on 6 April resulting in her issuing a letter on 24 June to Representatives and Regional Directors calling their attention to retirees who on a voluntary basis have offered to help UNICEF face the challenges of COVID-19 and related issues. For more details, these developments have been well documented in the last few issues of News and Views. Given progress along those lines, the core group which was negotiating the MOU in New York has temporarily suspended its actions. Instead it is counting on developments in the field with XUNICEF that will enable NYHQ to realize the benefits of collaborating with our Network members. Meanwhile, in a separate process launched by Baquer Namazi

Note that in this PDF version you just scroll down from page to page.  You will not be able to click the links in the table of contents.  However, you can 'pop-out' the original document.  All links should then work normally.

Russia quits U.N. system aimed at protecting hospitals, aid in Syria By Tom Perry reuters.com 1 min View Original Note:  This is a short excerpt. Please read the full article by clicking the link above. BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia has quit a United Nations arrangement that aimed to protect hospitals and humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria from being hit by the warring parties, according to a U.N. note to aid groups seen by Reuters on Thursday. The Russian move comes after an internal U.N. inquiry in April found it was “highly probable” the government of Syria or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year. Russia made the decision following an internal U.N. inquiry in April found it was “highly probable” the Syrian government or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia ac

I've  just published a novel that a few folk might be interested in reading. Click here for the Amazon page. Best regards, George Also check out George's earlier book, Children of the Moon Click here for the Amazon page

Dear friends and colleagues from the XUNICEFers family. I'm very aware that my 36 years of association with UNICEF -as an art and design officer and head of graphics and animation in NYHQ is somewhat unique in the sense that I have kept a reference copy of everything I ever designed and created visually for UNICEF. This is now quite a substantial collection of visual materials, films and animation. Much of this is now on view on my (not for profit) website. Like many of you I experienced a few mindless moments from supervisors and senior figures in my UNICEF years- while passing slowly up the ranks. One such moment was after I left the Nepal office and was working in a new duty station - I heard that a new incoming Rep to Nepal had thrown out all the original artwork and master copies of several film I'd made - so he could use the store room cupboard for a new set of pamphlets. I later heard similar stories from several other communication colleagues in the field - that th

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar I am pleased to share with you a small article, "Stay Safe in Covid Times". Dr. Sanjeev Kumar has written this for UPGI members and their families/friends. He would welcome comments or further questions which he has very kindly agreed to answer, finding time for us from his very very busy schedule. We hope to share with you, from time to time, information on Covid-19 after ascertaining its authenticity from our in-house doctors. Take good care of yourself. Regards. --Uma Shanker Acting President, UPGI Stay Safe in COVID times The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency. India has been adversely impacted with a catastrophic ‘double burden’: almost 5 lakh reported cases and > 15,000 deaths on 25 June 2020 (for latest figure visit https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ ), coupled with a humanitarian crisis that encompasses an economic downturn, disruption of normal life and loss of jobs. The response of the Government of India blunted the rapid progress

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar I am pleased to share with you a small article, "Stay Safe in Covid Times". Dr. Sanjeev Kumar has written this for UPGI members and their families/friends. He would welcome comments or further questions which he has very kindly agreed to answer, finding time for us from his very very busy schedule. We hope to share with you, from time to time, information on Covid-19 after ascertaining its authenticity from our in-house doctors. Take good care of yourself. Regards. --Uma Shanker Acting President, UPGI Stay Safe in COVID times The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency. India has been adversely impacted with a catastrophic ‘double burden’: almost 5 lakh reported cases and > 15,000 deaths on 25 June 2020 (for latest figure visit https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ ), coupled with a humanitarian crisis that encompasses an economic downturn, disruption of normal life and loss of jobs. The response of the Government of India blunted the rapid progress