HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 11 MAY 2020
COVID-19/ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, spoke at Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) informal briefing entitled “Joining Forces: Effective Policy Solutions for Covid-19 Response.”
In her remarks, she stressed that, now more than ever, people and countries everywhere rely on the United Nations to rise to the challenges of this global pandemic.
She added that since the start of this crisis, the UN has mobilized to full capacity through its 131 country teams, to immediately support national authorities in developing public health preparedness, as well as response plans.
The Deputy Secretary-General noted that, going forward, we will need to keep in mind dual imperatives: to respond urgently to stem the impact of the pandemic, while also helping Governments and people respond in a way that recovers better, more resilient, future.
She added that we will remain guided by the 2030 Agenda and will prioritize helping those who are most vulnerable to this crisis.
COVID-19/ RELIGIOUS LEADERS
Tomorrow morning, the Secretary-General will open a high-level video conference on the Role of Religious Leaders in Addressing the Multiples Challenges of COVID-19.
The Secretary-General will highlight the areas where religious leaders can play a pivotal role to deliver solutions to not only address the pandemic, but also recover better.
The conference will also have interventions from the President of the General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande; the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco, Ambassador Omar Hilale, who is organizing this meeting; as well as religious leaders of the three monotheistic religions, as well as others.
CHIEF EXECUTIVES BOARD
Next Thursday, 14 May, the Secretary-General will bring together the heads of the UN system in a virtual meeting of the Chief Executives Board of the UN.
The senior UN officials will discuss the future of multilateralism beyond the immediate response to COVID-19.
They are also expected to touch on topics such as human rights, global governance, ethics, international cooperation, conflict resolution, as well as international law in a post-COVID world.
The CEB members will also look at financing the COVID-19 response while keeping up the pace on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and also, how to use data as a strategic asset to inform the post-pandemic recovery.
The Chief Executives Board will also consider ways towards reversing the current trajectory of biodiversity loss, degradation of nature as well as climate change, while rebuilding stronger and more resilient economies in the aftermath of the pandemic.
COVID-19/HIV
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS said today that COVID-19-related service disruptions could cause hundreds of thousands of extra deaths from HIV.
A modelling group estimated that without mitigation efforts, a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy could lead to more than 500,000 extra deaths from AIDS-related illnesses, including from tuberculosis, in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020–2021.
WHO and UNAIDS also noted that people could continue to die from the disruption in large numbers for at least another five years, with an annual average excess in deaths of 40% over that period.
The research highlights the need for urgent efforts to ensure the continuity of HIV prevention and treatment services in order to avert excess HIV-related deaths and to prevent increases in HIV incidence during the pandemic.
LIBYA
In Libya, the Secretary-General strongly condemns any attacks on civilian populated areas.
Last Thursday, two civilians were reported killed and three injured in the shelling of a residential neighbourhood in Tripoli.
He also condemns the shelling of the Mitiga International Airport that took place on 9 May, and that airport is as you know, the only functioning civilian airport in Tripoli.
The strikes reportedly damaged passenger aircraft, fuel storage facilities, firefighting trucks, the passenger lounge, and caused civilian casualties.
The UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has renewed its call for a truce during the holy month of Ramadan to allow for an effective and coordinated response to the pandemic threat facing all Libyans.
The Secretary-General urges the immediate halt of all military operations in order to de-escalate the situation and prevent an all-out conflict.
He emphasizes that there is no military solution to the Libya conflict and calls on all parties to engage in immediate dialogue to reach a political solution.
The Secretary-General’s Acting Special Representative in Libya, Stephanie Turco Williams, stands ready to facilitate that dialogue.
The UN Mission will continue to document violations to be shared, where relevant, with the Panel of Experts and the International Criminal Court.
MALI
In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the improvised explosive device attacks against a convoy of peacekeepers in the region of Kidal, in Mali.
Three peacekeepers from Chad and four others were seriously injured in the attack that took place Sunday morning.
The Secretary-General expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
He reaffirmed once again that such cowardly acts will not deter the UN from its resolve to continue supporting the people and Government of Mali in their pursuit of peace and stability.
JORDAN
In Jordan, where there are 540 confirmed cases of the virus, the Resident Coordinator, Anders Pedersen, as well as the whole of the UN country team are working with the Government to address the pandemic.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is providing monthly cash assistance for 33,000 refugees, and they are also helping to fully staff the main hospitals and clinics in Zaatari and Azraq camps, which together host about 120,000 Syrian refugees.
UN Women is providing cash to female Syrian refugees using blockchain technology. It is also working with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to distribute kits for babies. The kits are produced and sold by refugee women themselves.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is boosting sexual and reproductive health services in camps and supporting gender-based violence prevention and attention services.
For their part, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UNICEF and UN Refugee Agency are developing an emergency education plan.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has put remote-learning techniques in place for more than 118,000 Palestinian refugee students.
The UN team in Jordan is also addressing the medium and long-term socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are working with the Government to ensure food production - by working with farmers, protecting consumer prices and monitoring the levels of stocks and grains.
SYRIA
In Syria, we remain concerned by the impact of the COVID-19 on people across that country. Many of them displaced and particularly vulnerable.
As of yesterday, 10 May, the Syrian Government had confirmed 47 cases, including three fatalities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading UN efforts to support preparation and mitigation measures across Syria, including in the north-west and north-east.
The focus is on enhancing the capacity to detect, diagnose and prevent the spread of the virus to the extent possible; and also to ensure adequate surveillance of entry points; and to provide protective equipment and training to health workers.
The UN is helping build testing capacity across Syria. Four laboratories have been established in Damascus, Lattakia and Aleppo governorates and one in Idlib in north-west Syria.
According to assessments, $385 million in funding is required in 2020 to address COVID-19 response across Syria. This is in addition to the $3.4 billion already requested for the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Today, our Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, Jamie McGoldrick, along with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Special Representative and the Head of the UN Human Rights Office there, issued a joint statement expressing concern over the continued detention of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities in light of the pandemic.
They called for the immediate release of all children in detention, including Palestinian children.
COVID-19/SAHEL
In the Sahel, as of today, almost 2,000 cases of the virus have been reported in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania.
Our humanitarian colleagues say that, as the health systems in this region have been weakened by conflict and insecurity, there is a high risk of spread for the virus.
In conflict affected areas of Mali, almost a quarter of all health facilities are not functioning. And those that are functioning often do not have the required equipment and treatment capacity.
In Burkina Faso, the situation is similar with 12 per cent of health facilities not functioning.
The Sahel is also home to over a million internally displaced people . Containing the virus would be difficult if it spreads to displacement sites.
As we have previously mentioned, the pandemic is also aggravating food insecurity in the Sahel. Over 13 million people could suffer from severe food insecurity by August – without including projections from the impact of the disease.
Food assistance is being distributed in line with virus exposure prevention measures.
Displaced people and the families hosting them are receiving hygiene kits. There are also plans to reorganize the IDP settlements.
The Sahel Humanitarian Response Plans have only received 11 per cent of the $ 2.6 billion requested so far. In these circumstances, we urge donors to provide funding urgently.
SOMALIA
In Somalia, our humanitarian colleagues there said that more than half a million people have been affected by flooding following the rise in the level of the Shabelle River due to heavy rains in both Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands.
In addition to covid and water-bourne diseases risks, the country is also facing the worst desert locust infestation in 25 years with new swarms reported in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug states.
Despite these threats, funding for humanitarian operations in Somalia remains very low.
As of today, the revised 2020 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan calling for more than $1 billion is only 16 per cent funded. Aid organizations and authorities are scaling up their efforts and have reached nearly 160,000 people with life-saving assistance across the country.
DESERT LOCUST
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today said that, while significant gains have been made in the fight against the desert locust upsurge in East Africa and Yemen, more needs to be done to prevent a food security crisis.
The ongoing rainy season is providing favourable conditions for locusts to breed.
Since FAO launched its response in January, more than 365,000 hectares have been controlled in ten countries, and 720,000 tonnes of cereal - enough to feed five million people a year - have been saved.
However, the agency said that a second wave of locusts will reach adult stage in June and will take flight at a critical time when many farmers in East Africa prepare to harvest their crops.
FAO said it will revise its appeal, not only for East Africa and Yemen but also for Iran are Pakistan, which are also dealing with locust problems.
COVID-19/MYANMAR
In Myanmar, our colleagues there tell us that, with international commercial flights suspended due to the pandemic, the World Food Programme (WFP) has launched humanitarian flights linking Yangon with Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
The first flight brought 10,000 virus testing kits, the first batch that the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has procured to help Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports.
The European Union and Switzerland are generously funding the first stage of this flight service. Each flight can bring up to two metric tons of humanitarian cargo, as well as personnel.
The UN’s Resident Coordinator, Ola Almgren, thanked all donors and Member States for their support.
And also in Myanmar, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today agreed with the Government to extend the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding for work through June of 2021 in Rakhine State.
The Memorandum, originally signed in June 2018, aims to allow for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh. It also supports development benefiting all communities living in the three northern townships in Rakhine.
VIRTUAL NOON BRIEFING GUEST TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the noon briefing will have a guest.
Joshua Setipa, who is the Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank, which is based in Turkey, will be launching the Technology Access Partnership.
This is a new coordinated initiative to strengthen developing countries’ responses to COVID-19 and increase access to lifesaving health technologies.
