This is the News in Brief from the United Nations. 

COVID-19: Global infections rose by 55 per cent in a week: WHO 

Global numbers of COVID-19 infections cases increased by 55 per cent in the last week, the UN health agency said on Wednesday, while the weekly death toll was “similar” to the previous seven day period.  

In total, the week from 3 to 9 January saw more than 15 million reported new cases of coronavirus and over 43,000 deaths.  

All regions reported an increase in infections except for Africa, which saw an 11 per cent decrease.  

Southeast Asia registered the largest increase in cases last week, up more than 400 per cent, followed by the Western Pacific, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Americas and Europe. 

Latest World Health Organization data indicates that there have 304 million confirmed cases and over 5.4 million deaths globally. 

The development comes after the UN health agency predicted that more than half of Europe will be infected with the Omicron variant within the next six to eight weeks. 

Sudan attacks on medics, clinics, patients must stop: WHO 

Amid ongoing protests in Sudan at the military takeover last October, the UN health agency issued an alert on Wednesday over attacks on medical professionals, patients and facilities, blaming armed forces for at least two of the raids.   

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement that the attacks had happened in Khartoum and elsewhere – a tactic that was last used against protesters during an uprising against longtime ruler Omar Al Bashir three years ago. 

Most of the latest incidents involved physical assault, obstruction and violent searches, along with threats and intimidation.  

The WHO warned that the two cases reportedly involving raids on healthcare facilities by military personnel were especially worrying, “considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other public health threats”. 

In one media report, witnesses said that soldiers fired tear gas into an emergency room at Khartoum Teaching Hospital that was treating injured protesters. 

In a statement condemning the “targeted” attacks, WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari described them as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”. They must stop now, he insisted. 

In 2021, there were 26 recorded health care attacks in Sudan, in which four people died and 38 were injured, according to WHO. 

Since last October, the UN agency has distributed more than 850 rapid response kits containing essential medicines and medical supplies to Khartoum and several priority states, enough to treat 1.1 million people for three months. 

Former ‘Mr. Speed’ urges Zimbabwe to cut road deaths   

Finally, he’s best known as “Mr. Speed” after his success in car racing, but these days, Jean Todt – the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety – wants more people to take their foot off the pedal to save lives – especially in Africa. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Todt made an appeal to Zimbabwe “to curb crashes and lives lost”, which likely amount to 7,000 a year, according to latest UN data. 

Worryingly, this number is expected to triple in the next 10 years unless the government takes action, as recommended in a new UN road safety review of the country, conducted by UN agencies UNECE and UNECA. 

The Special Envoy – who pledged to support road safety initiatives across Africa -noted that 90 per cent of people and goods on the continent are moved by road, which provide access to jobs, education, and health care.  

At the same time, Mr. Todt warned that Africa also sees the highest road traffic fatality rate in the world, while globally, there are 1.3 million road deaths a year, meaning that road traffic injuries are the number one cause of the death for people aged five to 29.  

Daniel Johnson, UN News.