World Health Organization ‘absolutely critical’ to neutralizing coronavirus threat – UN chief

8 April 2020
Health
UN Photo / Jean Marc Ferré

The World Health Organization (WHO) must be supported across the world, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, describing the UN health agency, which has led the multilateral response since the beginning, as “absolutely critical” in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.  

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Mali: UN mission fulfills mandate, aids battle against coronavirus

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As the COVID-19 pandemic plagues the world, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali told the Security Council on Tuesday that the mission continues to fulfill its mandate while doing whatever it can to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from overrunning the country.

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Children vulnerable to abuse and violence during coronavirus lockdowns, UN experts warn

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Independent UN human rights experts have called on States to boost child protection measures to help safeguard the welfare of millions of children who may be more exposed to violence, sale, trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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COVID-19 highlights nurses’ vulnerability as backbone to health services worldwide

Health

Nurses are on the frontline fighting COVID-19 but “an alarming failure” in the global supply of protective clothing and new coronavirus tests – together with “unprecedented” overwork linked to global staff shortages - have highlighted how vulnerable they are, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The development coincides with an impassioned personal message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the world’s medical professionals for World Health Day, marked on Tuesday 7 April.

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First Person: ‘Fate’ of Italian nurse, and countless other health workers, depends on protective clothing

Health

A 24-year-old nurse in Italy who is treating patients with the deadly COVID-19 virus has been describing how her “fate” on any given day is dependent on how well she dresses in her protective clothing.

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‘Say no to hate speech and xenophobia’, urges Guterres, marking 26 years since genocide in Rwanda

Human Rights

Remembering the more than one million people who over the course of just 100 days, were systematically killed in Rwanda, 26 years ago, the UN chief underscored on Tuesday that “we must never again let such an atrocity occur”.

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