This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
China gives $7 million to support food aid in South Sudan
To bolster food and nutrition assistance for some 5 million food-insecure people in South Sudan, China announced on Thursday it would contribute $7 million; a decision welcomed by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).
The funding will help the agency reach its overall targets, supplying rice, emergency pulses, and other commodities which are needed to provide school meals and food rations for more than 126,000 in need.
WFP estimates that 5.2 million South Sudanese are expected to be food insecure between January and March this year. The Organization was able to support five million crisis-affected with 259,000 tons of food in 2018.
China’s latest contribution is “an invaluable investment in the next generation and country’s overall development,” WFP’s Country Director, Adnan Khan said.
Uganda's Ebola preparedness 'will go a long way:' WHO Chief
The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has applauded Uganda for the Ebola preparedness response the country has mounted so far, in the wake of a recent outbreak which continues to affect neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended the risk management procedures put in place in the country including vaccination of frontline health workers, screening travelers at points of entry, and engaging in risk communication.
These preventative measures, the agency chief said, “will go a long way” in saving the lives of health workers; adding that WHO is “really grateful for the government’s commitment and support.”
The need to amplify Primary Health Care in order to prevent diseases is vital for Uganda, he said, and prevention of communicable and non-communicable disease are key to achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Agreement to curb greenhouse gases enters into force
And for this year, a new climate protocol comes into effect. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal protocol entered into force on 1 January, which means the 65 countries that have ratified the amendment so far, have agreed to do their part in avoiding up to 0.4 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of the century.
The agreement proposes reducing projected production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which act to destroy the ozone layer, by 80 percent over the next 30 years.
Controlling the ozone-depleting substances, UN Environment said, would substantively contribute to the goals outlined in two international environmental rulebooks, the Montreal Protocol and the key 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
Implementing the Kigali amendment means phasing down HFCs, exploring alternatives, and expanding data-gathering tools on the matter.
The latest numbers from a scientific study on ozone depletion show that in parts of the stratosphere, the ozone has recovered by between one and three percent in the past two decades.
At projected rates, the Northern-Hemisphere could heal completely by the 2030s, the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050’s and polar regions, by 2060.
Natalie Hutchison, UN News.
