WHO has published an Emergency Global Supply Chain Sysetem (COVID-19) catalogue listing all medical devices, including personal protective equipment, medical equipment, medical consumables, single use devices, and laboratory and test-related devices, which may be requested through the COVID-19 Supply Portal. The catalogue represents an initial prioritized selection of items and are subject to constant reviw. WHO surveyed networks of laboratories to map out global animal laboratory capacity around the world to potentially help with accelerating vaccine and therapeutic evaluation. The WHO Regional Office for Africa calls for equitable access to…
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COVID-19 – Global response Fact Sheet #5, Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 – July 10, 2020
KEY DEVELOPMENTS • The U.S. Department of State (DoS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) remain committed to assisting the world’s most vulnerable countries in fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. On June 19, U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo announced an additional $75.5 million to support the global response to COVID-19, bringing total pledged DoS and USAID funding to more than $1.3 billion. To date, pledged funding from USAID includes more than $227 million in assistance from USAID’s Global Health Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious-Disease…
Read MoreAlmost 10 million children may never return to school following COVID-19 lockdown
World is facing a hidden education emergency • COVID-19 leaves estimated $77 billion gap in education spending for world’s poorest children • Children in 12 countries are at extremely high risk of dropping out of school forever • In another 28 countries children are at moderate or high risk of not going back to school • Girls are at increased exposure to gender-based violence and risk of child marriage and teen pregnancy during school closures • Save the Children calls for increased funding of education, including conversion of debt liabilities…
Read MoreCameroon Truck Drivers Stuck at CAR Border After Health Officials Refuse to Accept their COVID Test Results
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON – The trucking of goods and humanitarian aid from Cameroon to the landlocked Central African Republic has slowed to a trickle, raising tensions between the two sides. Despite an agreement that Cameroon drivers who test negative for COVID-19 would be given access, testing kits are in short supply at the border, forcing some trucks to wait weeks to cross. El Hadj Oumarou, the head of Cameroon’s land freight transportation bureau, says hundreds of trucks at the border town of Garoua Boulay have not been given access to the…
Read MoreICCO supports people’s fight against the coronavirus
Over the last months, the corona pandemic has affected the lives of billions of people around the globe. The virus has challenged the most established and well-funded health and social protection systems, but poses even greater risks for regions and states that lack such services. The virus has irreversibly exposed and exacerbated existing global inequalities. Vulnerable individuals and groups – including elderly, poor, women, and refugees – are disproportionately affected. They often face more health risks, depend on a day-to-day income for survival, or are unable to carry out social…
Read MoreCoronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Situation Report – 172 (10 July 2020)
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros acknowledged how civil society has played a critical role in responding to this pandemic by highlighting the needs of the most vulnerable, fighting for an equitable response, and holding decision-makers to account, in his address to a webinar on “civil society engagement in COVID-19 response at national and local levels”, organised by WHO’s Health Partnerships department. The burden of COVID-19 is overwhelming fragile health systems in Africa, although the accelerating trend of increasing cases is not uniformly distributed across the region. WHO Regional Director for Africa,…
Read MoreUNHCR and WFP warn refugees in Africa face hunger and malnutrition as COVID-19 worsens food shortages
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the World Food Programme (WFP) are warning that severe underfunding, conflict and disasters – as well as supply chain challenges, rising food prices and loss of income due to COVID19 – threaten to leave millions of refugees across Africa without food. “Millions of refugees throughout Africa are currently reliant on regular aid to meet their food needs,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Around half are children, who may develop life-long difficulties if deprived of food at vital stages in their development.”…
Read MoreImpact of COVID-19 on the protection of displaced and stateless populations – West and Central Africa (June 2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic represents an extraordinary and unprecedented emergency for States in West and Central Africa. In response, Governments are taking necessary and legitimate measures to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect populations. These measures are not specific to refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless or returnees and bear a general scope. However, some of these measures may have a disproportionate impact on displaced population due to their specific needs and vulnerabilities. UNHCR is committed to working in close concert with national authorities and other relevant actors…
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