This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
COVID danger has not passed, States must support pandemic treaty: Tedros
UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged all countries on Monday to support a pandemic preparedness treaty, warning that it would be a “monumental error” to think the danger of COVID-19 has passed.
A potential international treaty will be discussed in a special session of WHO members in November.
Although COVID cases and deaths are declining globally, Tedros insisted that the “way out” was through “tailored and consistent” public health measures in combination with equitable vaccination.
The WHO Director-General urged all Member States to commit to vaccinating at least 10 per cent of the global population by the end of September and at least 30 per cent by the end of the year.
Member States “can only truly keep their own people safe if they are accountable to each other at the global level”, Tedros maintained, adding that the pandemic had been characterized by the “lack of sharing” of “data, information, pathogens, technologies and resources”.
Haiti: funding gap threatens the lives of nearly 86,000 children
In Haiti, the number of severely malnourished under-fives could more than double this year, UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Monday.
According to the agency, more than 86,000 Haitian children are at risk today, compared to 41,000 children last year.
Some could die if they do not receive timely treatment, said UNICEF’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough.
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, children’s lives on the Caribbean island have been increasingly affected by rising violence, a lack of access to nutrition services and clean water, as well as extreme weather conditions including hurricanes.
UNICEF has reported the disruption of health services since the global health crisis began last year, along with a sharp decline in child immunizations linked to parental concerns.
This has left fewer than one in 10 children in Haiti completely unvaccinated and nearly six in 10 insufficiently protected.
UN refugee agency urges support for displaced Afghans and hosts
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has urged greater support for Afghan refugees in Iran, warning that a further increase in violence in Afghanistan will lead to an “exponential (rise) in internal displacement” and potentially to more Afghans seeking safety outside their country.
In its appeal on Monday, the UN agency noted that Iran hosts almost one million Afghan refugees, in addition to some 2.6 million undocumented or Afghan passport holders there.
Millions of Afghans are also internally displaced within their country - some 100,000 in the past four months alone, while millions more have had to seek safety across borders over the years, the majority in Iran and Pakistan.
They urgently need humanitarian assistance and so do their host communities, UNHCR said, insisting that it is “imperative” to provide some stability to communities that have been affected by the economic impact of COVID-19.
Iran hosts almost one million Afghan refugees, in addition to some 2.6 million undocumented or Afghan passport holders living in the country.
A lack of resources and funding has constrained the ability of UNHCR and the Government of Iran to maintain and increase their humanitarian efforts. UNHCR’s funding appeal for Iran of $97.9 million for 2021 is only eight per cent funded.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
