This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
COVID-19 vaccine: UNICEF to stockpile more than half a billion syringes
As countries around the world gear up to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has begun laying the groundwork for safe and efficient delivery by buying and pre-positioning key equipment.
The agency said on Monday it will begin by stockpiling around 520 million syringes in its warehouses, to have a billion ready for use throughout 2021, to ensure syringes arrive before vaccines are distributed.
This will be on top of the roughly 620 million syringes that it will purchase for other vaccination programmes to use next year, against diseases such as measles and typhoid.UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore spelled out that “in order to move fast later, we must move fast now”, noting that by the end of the year, over half a billion syringes should be in place.
“That’s enough syringes to wrap around the world one and a half times”, she said.
Maintain coronavirus vigilance
Staying with coronavirus news, following a slight decline in cases throughout the South-East Asia region, the World Health Organization, WHO, cautioned on Monday against relaxing health protection measures.
Noting that the pandemic continues unbated and strengthened responses are needed, WHO’s Regional Director, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, said that “there should be no complacency”.
“Our relentless efforts need to continue with more vigor” he added.
Home to a quarter of the world’s population, the region has reported over eight million of the world’s 40 million plus cases.
Despite many countries having curbed transmission rates in the region, everyone must continue to maintain physical distance, hand hygiene, and wear a mask when needed, WHO reminded.
Respect, ‘crucial’ says top UN official, following beheading in France
And finally, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations, or UNAOC, has condemned “in the strongest terms” the beheading of a French history teacher on Friday in Paris, after he reportedly showed a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.
The UN Official charged with safeguarding religious sites and pushing back on hate speech, stressed that togetherness, peace and tolerance are rooted in all faiths.
Respecting others, regardless of their culture, belief or race, is “crucial” to living together in just, peaceful, and inclusive societies, upheld Mr. Moratinos.
He also underscored that hate speech and stigma “sow division and fragment societies”.
Moreover, the UNAOC chief re-iterated that such horrific crimes should not stop people everywhere from standing up to extremist ideologies.
Liz Scaffidi, UN News.
