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Hello Jammu News at 5:43:00 PM 0


Geneva, Feb 21 :  China and the US may be the largest producers of coal power, but power plants in India take the highest toll in the world when it comes to health, a global study claims.

Coal-fired power plants produce more than just carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, said researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Coal burning also releases particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury -- thus damaging the health of many people around the world, they said.

To estimate where action is most urgently required, the researchers modelled and calculated the undesired side effects of coal power for each of the 7,861 power plant units in the world.

The results, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, show that China and the US are the two largest producers of coal power, but power plants in India take the highest toll in the world when it comes to health.

Central Europe, North America and China all have modern power plants, but Eastern Europe, Russia and India still have many older power plants equipped with insufficient flue gas treatment, said Stefanie Hellweg from ETH Zurich's Institute of Environmental Engineering, who led the study.

As a result, these power plants only remove a fraction of the pollutants -- while also often burning coal of inferior quality.

"More than half of the health effects can be traced back to just one-tenth of the power plants. These power plants should be upgraded or shut down as quickly as possible," said Christopher Oberschelp, the lead author of the study.

The global picture of coal power production shows that the gap between privileged and disadvantaged regions is widening. This is happening for two reasons.

Firstly, wealthy countries -- such as in Europe -- import high-quality coal with a high calorific value and low emissions of harmful sulphur dioxide.

The poorer coal-exporting countries such as Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa are left with low-quality coal, which they often burn in outdated power plants without modern flue gas treatment to remove the sulphur dioxide.

"In Europe, we contribute to global warming with our own power plants, which has a global impact. However, the local health damage caused by particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide occurs mainly in Asia, where coal power is used to manufacture a large proportion of our consumer products," said Oberschelp.

"Global coal resources will last for several hundred years, so the harmful emissions need to be limited politically. It is particularly important to leave coal that is high in mercury and sulphur content in the ground," said Oberschelp.

Researchers said reducing the negative health effects of coal power generation should be a global priority.

"But further industrialisation, especially in China and India, poses the risk of aggravating the situation instead," they said.

The initial investment costs for the construction of a coal power plant are high, but the subsequent operating costs are low. Power plant operators thus have an economic interest in keeping their plants running for a long time, according to researchers.

"The best option is therefore to not build any new coal power plants. From a health and environment perspective, we should move away from coal and towards natural gas -- and in the long term, towards renewable energy sources," said Oberschelp.               [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 4:32:00 PM 0

Geneva, Aug 27: United Nations investigators today called for an international probe and prosecution of Myanmar's army chief and five other top military commanders for genocide against the country's Rohingya minority.

"Myanmar's top military generals, including Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, must be investigated and prosecuted for genocide in the north of Rakhine State, as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States," a UN-backed fact-finding mission said. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:12:00 PM 0

Geneva, Aug 18: Former United Nations Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan has died today after a short illness at the age of 80, his foundation announced.

"It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness," the foundation said in a statement.  (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:49:00 PM 0

Geneva, Jun 8 (AP) A World Cup assistant referee resigned from duty after being caught taking a USD 600 cash payment in an undercover television sting.
Aden Range Marwa of Kenya told FIFA he would not go to Russia, the world soccer body said yesterday.
FIFA said it passed details of Marwa's case and others linked to misconduct in a Ghanaian journalist's documentary to its "investigatory and judicial bodies to follow up." 
The Kenyan official, who was approved by FIFA for international games since 2008, was filmed taking the cash at an African continental tournament in footage in released yesterday by BBC Africa. 
FIFA's code of ethics prohibits officials taking cash gifts.
The investigation was led by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and also implicated Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi, an elected member of FIFA's ruling council, in taking cash gifts.
Marwa is the second World Cup match official implicated in corruption among more than 100 referees and assistants trained by FIFA for more than two years, and selected in recent weeks.
The Saudi Arabian soccer federation banned referee Fahad Al Mirdasi for life after allegedly seeking a bribe to help a team win the national cup final.
Marwa and Al Mirdasi both worked at the 2017 Confederations Cup warmup tournament in Russia.
Marwa was also taken by FIFA to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as a reserve match official.
A Ghanian referee, Joseph Lamptey, was banned for life by FIFA for corruptly awarding a penalty in a World Cup qualifying game in 2016 in a betting scam.
FIFA said yesterday it would impose "severe sanctions" when the integrity of competitions is compromised.
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Hello Jammu News at 12:25:00 PM 0
Geneva/Kinshasa, May 18: One new case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been confirmed in Wangata, one of the three health zones of Mbandaka, a city of nearly 1.2 million people in Equateur Province in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced the finding, after laboratory tests conducted by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) confirmed one specimen as positive for EVD.
Until now, all the confirmed Ebola cases were reported from Bikoro health zone, which is also in Equateur Province but at a distance of nearly 150 km from Mbandaka. The health facilities in Bikoro have very limited functionality and the affected areas are difficult to reach, particularly during the current rainy season, as the roads are often impassable.
"This is a concerning development, but we now have better tools than ever before to combat Ebola," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO and our partners are taking decisive action to stop further spread of the virus."
WHO is deploying around 30 experts to conduct surveillance in the city and is working with the Ministry of Health and partners to engage with communities on prevention and treatment and the reporting of new cases.
"The arrival of Ebola in an urban area is very concerning and WHO and partners are working together to rapidly scale up the search for all contacts of the confirmed case in the Mbandaka area," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
WHO is also working with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other partners to strengthen the capacity of health facilities to treat Ebola patients in special isolation wards.
As of May 15, a total of 44 Ebola virus disease cases have been reported: 3 confirmed, 20 probable, and 21 suspected.
WHO partners in the DRC Ebola response include: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Congolese Red Cross (Congo ICRC), the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa-CDC), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, UNOCHA, MONUSCO, International Organization for Migration (IOM), the FAO Emergency Management Centre – Animal Health (EMC-AH), the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP), Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), the UK Public Health Rapid Support team, the EPIET Alumni Network (EAN), and the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Emerging Diseases Clinical Assessment and Response Network (EDCARN).
Additional coordination and technical support is forthcoming through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and Emergency Medical Teams (EMT). UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 3:57:00 PM 0


Geneva/ Sana’a, May 9: Despite ongoing civil unrest and instability, Yemen’s Trachoma Elimination Programme launched its first large-scale treatment campaign, targeting approximately 450 000 people in areas at high risk for the disease.
Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and Yemen has one of the highest prevalence levels in the Middle East.
“Despite delays, we were able to implement the programme in six districts of Ibb and Al Hudaydah governorates, thanks to support from the World Bank, Sightsavers1 and medicines donated through the International Trachoma Initiative” said Dr Nevio Zagaria, WHO Representative in Yemen.
“The success of this campaign depended on the support of the population and of entire affected communities, as well as partners, through close coordination with other ministries and actors involved in trachoma elimination,” Dr Zagaria said.
The campaign, from May 2‒ , was conducted by trained health workers and volunteers who also distributed WHO-supplied facial kits, comprising face towel and soap, to encourage hygiene and facial cleanliness.
Yemen completed a series of trachoma surveys under the Global Trachoma Mapping Project from 2013 to 2015, covering 70 districts across the country. The surveys determined that more than 2.7 million people in 30 districts require public-health interventions to address transmission of the bacteria that cause trachoma and its associated morbidity.
WHO recommends implementation of the SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement) to achieve elimination of the disease as a public-health problem.
“The surveys revealed that the prevalence of active trachoma exceeded 10% in several areas of the country, with the highest estimates in Ibb and Al Hudaydah. The two governorates were therefore prioritized for the first mass treatment intervention” said Dr Zagaria. “If all goes well and, depending on the security situation, the current campaign will be repeated annually for three years, after which an impact survey needs to be done.”
In an additional 24 districts, the prevalence of active trachoma2 is above 5%, requiring large-scale antibiotic treatment, supported by awareness and educational campaigns.
Trachoma, which affects mainly people living in areas deprived of water and sanitation, puts more than 190 million people at risk across 39 countries. It is also responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of around 1.9 million people worldwide.
The SAFE strategy recommended by WHO to prevent and treat trachoma is guiding international efforts to eliminate the disease as a public health problem. In its earlier stages, trachoma can be treated with oral antibiotics taken once a year, usually for 1–3 years.
Azithromycin is the antibiotic of choice for treatment of trachoma. Pfizer markets azithromycin (Zithromax) and donates it for trachoma elimination through the International Trachoma Initiative.
Yemen has seen success with previous mass treatment interventions for lymphatic filariasis as the country currently awaits validation of their claim to have eliminated the disease as a public health problem.
With the support of WHO and partners including the World Bank and The End Fund, the country is also tackling other neglected tropical diseases through integrated mass treatment campaigns using donated medicines.
In April 2018, an integrated large-scale treatment campaign covered 86 districts in 14 governorates of the country, targeting over 4.8 million people for two diseases (schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis) and more than 500 000 people for one disease (onchocerciasis).
The campaign was run by more than 6000 teams, comprising 14 000 team leaders and medicine distributors, involving a total of 15 million tablets (albendazole, ivermectin and praziquantel). UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 3:53:00 PM 0

Geneva/Brazzaville, May 9: The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Bikoro in Equateur Province.
The outbreak declaration occurred after laboratory results confirmed two cases of EVD on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Health of Democratic of the Congo (DRC) informed WHO that two out of five samples collected from five patients tested positive for EVD at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa. More specimens are being collected for testing, a WHO report on Wednesday said.
WHO is working closely with the Government of the DRC to rapidly scale up its operations and mobilize health partners using the model of a successful response to a similar EVD outbreak in 2017.
“Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak,” said Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General, Emergency Preparedness and Response. “Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease.”
The first multidisciplinary team comprised of experts from WHO, Medecins Sans Frontières and Provincial Division of Health travelled today to Bikoro to strengthen coordination and investigations.
Bikoro is situated in Equateur Province on the shores of Lake Tumba in the north-western part of the country near the Republic of the Congo. All cases were reported from iIkoko Iponge health facility located about 30 kilometres from Bikoro. Health facilities in Bikoro have very limited functionality, and rely on international organizations to provide supplies that frequently stock out. 
“We know that addressing this outbreak will require a comprehensive and coordinated response. WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response. We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa.
HEALTH-CONGO-EBOLA TWO LAST Geneva/Brazzaville
This is DRC’s ninth outbreak of EVD since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976. In the past five weeks, there have been 21 suspected viral haemorrhagic fever in and around the iIkoko Iponge, including 17 deaths.
“WHO is closely working with other partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières, to ensure a strong, response to support the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prevent and control the spreading of the disease from the epicentre of iIkoko Iponge Health Zone to save lives," said Dr Allarangar Yokouide, WHO Representative in the DRC. 
Upon learning about the laboratory results today, WHO set up its Incident Management System to fully dedicate staff and resources across the organization to the response. WHO plans to deploy epidemiologists, logisticians, clinicians, infection prevention and control experts, risk communications experts and vaccination support teams in the coming days.
WHO will also be determining supply needs and help fill gaps, such as for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). WHO has also alerted neighbouring countries.
WHO released US$ 1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support response activities for the next three months with the goal of stopping the spread of Ebola to surrounding provinces and countries.
The last Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo occurred in 2017 in Likati Health Zone, Bas Uele Province, in the northern part of the country and was quickly contained thanks to joint efforts by the Government of DRC, WHO and many different partners.
An effective response to the 2017 EVD outbreak was achieved through the timely alert by local authorities of suspect cases, immediate testing of blood samples due to strengthened national laboratory capacity, the early announcement of the outbreak by the government, rapid response activities by local and national health authorities with the robust support of international partners, and speedy access to flexible funding.
Coordination support on the ground by WHO was critical and an Incident Management System was set up within 24 hours of the outbreak being announced. WHO deployed more than 50 experts to work closely with government and partners.
The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50 per cent. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 3:49:00 PM 0


Geneva, May 9: With monsoon hitting Bangladesh, WHO warns that life-saving health services for 1.3 million people—Rohingya refugees and host communities— living in Cox’s Bazar are under serious threat, unless urgent funding is secured.
Scaling up health operations since September 2017, WHO and health partners have supported the Government of Bangladesh in saving thousands of lives of refugees who crossed over from Myanmar in large numbers in a very short span of time. Given the high risk of outbreaks among the refugees in overcrowded, unsanitary camps, WHO prioritised disease control from the outset.
WHO rapidly set up a vital disease early warning system, and together with government and partners administered over 3 million doses of life- saving vaccines against deadly diseases such as cholera, measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus and polio. When an outbreak of diphtheria was detected, WHO responded rapidly, bringing in international experts, emergency medical teams and medicines and medical supplies.
To protect communities from a potential cholera outbreak during monsoon season, WHO and partners began a massive oral cholera vaccination campaign on 6 May. Nearly one million Rohingyas and their host community will be targeted. This is the third oral cholera vaccination campaign that builds on two rounds of vaccination last year that reached around 900,000 people.
WHO and partners have been constantly working towards scaling up delivery of other essential health services for the refugees. For example, a mother now knows that when her child falls ill, there is a clinic to which she can go and receive care for her child.
WHO is supporting the expansion of the district hospital in Cox’s Bazar so that it can better respond to the additional patient load of the refugees. WHO also established a much-needed laboratory at the local medical college. Services for reproductive health, mental health and chronic diseases continue to expand.
“Collective efforts are being made with the Government of Bangladesh and other health partners to meet urgent needs of the Rohingya refugees. This is a very difficult emergency setting, but we have so far been able to avert a major public health crisis. These collaborative efforts need to continue and to be strengthened further in view of the risks in the ongoing rainy season,” said Dr Roderico Ofrin, Regional Emergency Director.
But these gains are at imminent risk – and the health of refugees remains under threat. The first reported landsides occurred in Camp 4 in Ukhia killing one person and injuring two, which is a clear sign that the monsoons have arrived in Bangladesh, and preparedness efforts must be accelerated.
HEALTH-MONSOON-Rohingya refugees TWO LAST GENEVA
Nearly 65 of the 226 health facilities in the camps are at risk of flooding and landslides. Many more may become unreachable. WHO is also concerned about increased risk of diseases such as diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses and malaria, in crowded camps when health services may be less accessible. Water and sanitation conditions still remain far from optimal and will only get worse with flooding. The cyclone season also looms.
For the past few months, WHO and partners have been preparing for the monsoon and cyclone seasons by mapping out health facilities at risk of floods and landslides, prepositioning medical equipment and supplies, further strengthening preparedness for outbreaks and training mobile medical teams for immediate deployment.
The other major risk is lack of funding. In spite of the extraordinary generosity of the Government of Bangladesh and the remarkable efforts of health partners, resources are incredibly scarce.
The Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, an overall response plan of all agencies, was launched seeking for US$ 113.1 million for the health sector. So far, only 3.4 per cent of the funds have been secured. For 2018, WHO has appealed for US$ 16.5 million, but has not secured the funding yet.
“Without funding, Cox’s Bazar remains a fragile operation and we risk losing the huge gains made so far. WHO’s future response plans are entirely dependent on donors. We have enough resources to run our operations until the end of June, which is when the rainy season will be in full swing. And we are not alone, many of our partners are in a similar dire financial situation, said Dr Richard Brennan, Director of Emergency Operations.
The international community must urgently find the funds to support the refugees and their host Bangladesh at this critical time,” Dr Brennan added. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 1:06:00 PM 0



Cairo/Geneva, Apr 25: As the international community comes together in Brussels to show support for Syrians and for a political solution to the conflict, WHO calls for increased investments in health to protect the lives of almost 17 million vulnerable men, women and children inside Syria and in five major neighbouring countries.
Every day, Syrians are dying of conditions that are easily treatable. Inside the country, critical shortages, insecurity and disrupted systems have left millions of people in need of health aid.
Meanwhile, Syrians who have fled to neighbouring countries find themselves just as vulnerable, with the vast majority living below the poverty line and unable to afford life-saving health care, a WHO
Eastern Mediterranean Region report on Wednesday said.
Seven years into the crisis have left 11.3 million people inside Syria in need of life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian health aid, while fewer than half of all public health facilities are fully
operational. Indiscriminate attacks on health care continue; in 2018 alone, there have been 8 health workers killed or injured and 74 verified attacks on health facilities.
Throughout the country, people are unable to obtain basic, life-saving health care services without being exposed to significant risks on a daily basis. These include almost 2.3 million people in
hard-to-reach and besieged areas. Hundreds of seriously ill and wounded people living in besieged areas have been denied the right to leave to obtain life-saving health care. Many of them have died as a result.
Newly accessible areas are often contaminated with explosive hazards, and those who chose to return to their homes may be more at risk of injuries, exacerbated by the lack of basic health care services in many areas of return.
For almost 6 million Syrian refugees across the region, the living situation continues to be extremely challenging. Many refugees face psychosocial and physical effects of war and displacement and are in need for primary, secondary and tertiary health care.
National health systems across the region continue to be the primary responders to those health needs, however, access continues to be limited, not only due to overwhelmed and under-funded health systems, but also due to the financial limitations of the refugees themselves.
In addition to millions of Syrian refugees affected by the crisis, an additional 4 million host community members are also affected by the refugee crisis, and in need of aid. In Turkey, where integration of Syrian health care workers into national health systems is well established, language and cultural barriers remain a challenge.
Within the context of the Brussels conference on Syria and the Region WHO emphasizes that health is a human right that must be respected by all parties to the conflict, that the attacks on health workers and facilities must stop, and that there must be adequate investment in the health sector of both Syria and neighbouring host countries. The people of Syria cannot have a future without proper health care.
As part of the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria, WHO and health partners require US$ 426.4 m to reach 11.3 million people across the country with life-saving health care services. Of this amount, WHO requires US$ 143 million.
To address the health needs of more than 5.3 million Syrian refugees and almost 4 million host community members affected by the Syrian refugee crisis, the health and nutrition sector requires US$ 294 million as part of the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for 2018-2019. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 1:46:00 PM 0


Geneva, Apr 6: On April 7, World Health Day, the World Health Organization marks its 70th anniversary.
Over the past seven decades, WHO has spearheaded efforts to rid the world of killer diseases like smallpox and to fight against deadly habits like tobacco use.
This year, World Health Day is dedicated to one of WHO’s founding principles: “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”
“Good health is the most precious thing anyone can have,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “When people are healthy, they can learn, work, and support themselves and their families. When they are sick, nothing else matters. Families and communities fall behind. That’s why WHO is so committed to ensuring good health for all.”
With 194 member states, across six regions, and working from more than 150 offices, WHO staff are united in a shared drive to achieve better health for everyone, everywhere – and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring “healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages,” a WHO statement said on Friday.
The tagline for this year’s World Health Day is “Universal Health Coverage: everyone, everywhere”. WHO offices worldwide are organizing events to mark the day, with Dr Tedros joining celebrations in Sri Lanka.
Globally, life expectancy has increased by 25 years since WHO was established. Some of the biggest health gains are seen among children under-5: in 2016, 6 million fewer children died before they reached their fifth birthday than in 1990.
Smallpox has been defeated and polio is on the verge of eradication. Many countries have successfully eliminated measles, malaria and debilitating tropical diseases like guinea worm and elephantiasis, as well as mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
Bold new WHO recommendations for earlier, simpler treatment, combined with efforts to facilitate access to cheaper generic medicines, have helped 21 million people get life-saving treatment for HIV. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:03:00 PM 0


Geneva, Mar 15: After seven years of conflict in Syria, WHO has renewed its call for the protection of health workers and for immediate access to besieged populations.
Attacks on the health sector have continued at an alarming level in the past year. The 67 verified attacks on health facilities, workers, and infrastructure recorded during the first two months of 2018 amount to more than 50 per cent of verified attacks in all of 2017.
“This health tragedy must come to an end,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Every attack shatters communities and ripples through health systems, damaging infrastructure and reducing access to health for vulnerable people. WHO calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to immediately halt attacks on health workers, their means of transport and equipment, hospitals and other medical facilities,” he said.
Health systems are being attacked in the very places where they are needed most. An estimated 2.9 million Syrians live in UN-declared hard-to-reach and besieged locations. WHO is providing health assistance to many of these areas but lacks consistent access.
In East Ghouta, nearly 400,000 people have lived under siege for half a decade. Basic health supplies have all but run out, and there are now more than 1,000 people in need of immediate medical evacuation.
“It is unacceptable that children, women, and men are dying from injuries and illnesses that are easily treatable and preventable,” said Dr Tedros. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 4:52:00 PM 0



Geneva, Mar 3: The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Kenya free of dracunculiasis transmission following the recommendation of the International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication (ICCDE).
During its 12th meeting held at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland the ICCDE reviewed the report of an International Certification Team that visited Kenya in October 2017 to assess the country’s claim of having eliminated the disease, a WHO release on Sunday said.
“We congratulate Kenya and salute the work of the thousands of health workers and volunteers who braved difficult conditions for decades to achieve this milestone,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“This triumph should inspire us all to overcome diseases of poverty and improve the lives of vulnerable people while leaving no one behind,” he said.
In his first face to face meeting with ICCDE members since he took office as Director-General of WHO in May 2017, Dr Tedros expressed his appreciation for the Commission’s work over the years and reiterated WHO’s unparalleled commitment to eradicating dracunculiasis.
He added that with the help of partners such as The Carter Center, UNICEF and CDC, WHO will redouble its efforts in providing optimal support to Chad, Ethiopia, Mali and South Sudan, the four countries that remain endemic for the disease.
Dr Tedros also announced that he will personally follow up with leaders of those countries where transmission is still occurring and organize high-level visits to further motivate them to reach the finish line.
Kenya now becomes the 187th WHO Member State to be certified dracunculiasis-free, a major achievement for Kenya as it strengthens its commitment to advancing its agenda for universal health coverage.
Only seven countries remain to be certified. WHO is the only organization mandated to certify countries as free of transmission following the recommendation of the ICCDE.
In another important move, WHO has congratulated South Sudan for reporting zero human cases of the disease during the whole of 2017.
This unprecedented achievement is the consequence of a sustained eradication campaign led by the South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Programme and the country’s Ministry of Health and partners.
“This is the result of good leadership as well as concerted efforts by all partners to get to where we are. Given the difficulties we experienced, we would not have done it by ourselves and we want to thank our partners – WHO, UNICEF and The Carter Center and many others – who stood with us,” said Dr Riak Gai Kok, Minister of Health of South Sudan. 
“I also want to pay tribute to the country's leadership for staying focused to tackle the magnitude of this problem. Even during the war, we made sure that work continued in areas that were beyond control lines and that the people continued to get the care they needed.” UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:08:00 PM 0


Geneva, Nov 22: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is working with authorities in Bangladesh to urgently investigate high levels E.coli contamination in water drawn from wells inside the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.
“The latest figures from the World Health Organisation suggest that 62 per cent of water available to households is contaminated,” UNICEF spokesperson Christophe Boulierac told reporters on Tuesday at the regular press briefing here in Geneva.
“We are also concerned by an increase in cases of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) which have included several deaths,” he added. Between 25 August and 11 November 2017, a total of 36,096 AWD cases were reported -- including 10 related deaths – 42 per cent, or 15,206, of which were children under age five. “We are seeing an upward trend in infection rates. Whilst the exact cause of increased cases of AWD remains uncertain, it may be linked to contaminated food or water, Mr Boulierac elaborated.
Some of the wells inside the camps were dug too shallowly, less than 40 meters deep; have been poorly sited; and are very congested with no safeguards to prevent bacterial contamination at ground level. “Contamination may be being caused through poor hygiene practices, such as the use of dirty containers [and] bad hygiene habits of the population in water handling,” the spokesperson said. UNICEF and the Bangladesh authorities are investigating levels of contamination to ensure better construction practices for tube wells that meet international standards and have an appropriate ceiling. “We are stepping up measures to distribute water purification tablets to provide for water treatment at the household level as well as promoting good hygiene practices,” he said, noting that providing safe drinking water has been one of UNICEF's highest priorities in responding to the Rohingya refugees' needs.
Since 25 August, some 622,000 refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar have sought refuge in Cox's Bazar – bringing the total number of refugees there to an estimated 834,000. As international attention focuses on the main Kutupalong and Balukhali settlements, the thousands who have settled in smaller villages in the southern part of the district risk being excluded from humanitarian aid programmes, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said. Access to clean water is also a major concern across all the locations, particularly as the dry season approaches. Aid agencies providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are racing to identify solutions to this potentially life-threatening problem. Although most are in the main settlements, 22,067 refugees live in Shamlapur, with 16 people sharing one latrine that are mostly full or dangerous; 22,130 in Leda, which has only one latrine per 47 people – well below the humanitarian 'Sphere' standard of one per 20 people; and 29,915 in Unchiprang, where there is also only one well per 57 people. This totals more 74,000 Rohingya refugees in all. Many are contaminated with E.coli or are too shallow to provide enough clean water for the population through the dry season. IOM emergency managers say that the three sites urgently need to be developed, including providing vital infrastructure – access roads, lighting and waste management. “Most of the temporary pit latrines are full. With little to no land for de-sludging, they are becoming unusable and a danger to communities living nearby,” said IOM WASH specialist Stephen Waswa Otieno. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 1:08:00 PM 0

Geneva, Nov 8: The innovative data collection technology employed by the United Nations refugee agency for the first stage of Rohingya family counting in Bangladesh has revealed a worrying statistic: one-third of the refugee population is vulnerable.
“In an innovative and revealing family counting exercise, UNHCR [the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees] teams found that one-third of the families are vulnerable,” Duniya Aslam Khan, UNHCR spokesperson told reporters at the regular press briefing in Geneva. Ms Khan said that “14 per cent are single mothers holding their families together with little support in harsh camp conditions. Others are struggling with serious health problems or disabilities.” There is also a high proportion of elderly people at risk, unaccompanied and separated children – some of them taking care of younger siblings. Children and women have made up more than half of the total population. The individual biometric registration exercise, conducted by UNHCR and Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC), took place in the Kutupalong camp, makeshift and extension areas and Balukhali makeshift areas and is now extending to further south. More than 100 UNHCR-hired enumerators have so far gathered data on 120,284 families comprising 517,643 refugees. This emergency registration was made successful thanks to the new data collecting technology. The geo-tagged data collection device was designed to use GPS even without network coverage, making data consolidation and analysis more efficient. The barcoded RRRC Family Counting Card has also given a shape to Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh in terms of demography and location. “Because the refugees are still on the move and site zoning is still in progress, the enumerators visit their shelters individually, meaning that refugees do not have to queue to be counted,” Ms. Khan explained. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 3:32:00 PM 0

Geneva, Oct 28: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the US had “a very healthy exchange of information on terrorists, which is what we really hope to achieve with Pakistan.” At a news conference in Geneva, his last stop on the current foreign travel, Tillerson said that he would not characterise his direct discussions with the Pakistani leadership as lecturing at all. “It was a very good and open exchange. In fact, we probably listened 80 per cent of the time and we talked 20 per cent. And it was important to me, because I have not engaged with Pakistani leadership previously. And, so my objective was to listen a lot, to hear their perspective,” he said, according to The Nation. “We put our points forward. We put our expectations forward in no uncertain terms. There has been significant engagement prior to my visit, and there will be further engagement in the future, as we work through how we want to exchange information and achieve the objective of eliminating these terrorist organisations, wherever they may be located,” Tillerson said. Tillerson described his communication with the Pakistani leadership as very frank and very candid. “We had the joint meeting with Prime Minister Abbasi and the full leadership team. And then I had a second meeting with Army Chief General Bajwa and a couple of his close advisers, so we could have a more thorough discussion about some of the specifics,” he said, adding, that he thinks that it was a very open, candid and frank exchange. “There’s nothing to be achieved by lecturing, but we should be very clear about expectations and what we’re asking. And either people will step up and meet those expectations or they won’t. We are going to chart our course consistent with what Pakistan not just says they do but what they actually do,” Tillerson said. Noting that the future course of action would be based on conditions on the ground, he said the entire South Asia strategy is a conditions-based strategy. Tillerson said that the message to Pakistan was: “Here’s what we need for Pakistan to do. We’re asking you to do this; we’re not demanding anything. You’re a sovereign country. You’ll decide what you want to do, but understand this is what we think is necessary. And if you don’t want to do that, don’t feel you can do it, we’ll adjust our tactics and our strategies to achieve the same objective a different way.” Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson told Indian media that the Trump Administration has communicated to Pakistan that it must take “decisive” action against terrorist groups and dismantle their safe havens on its soil. “We have communicated our expectations to Pakistan numerous times that they must take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 6:30:00 PM 0

GENEVA, Oct 23: Nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar, an "untenable situation" for neighbour Bangladesh, the country's UN envoy said on Monday, calling on Myanmar to let them return. Some 600,000 people have crossed the border since August 25, when insurgent attacks on security posts were met by a ferocious counter-offensive by the Myanmar army in Rakhine state which the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing. "This is the biggest exodus from a single country since the Rwandan genocide in 1994," Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told a UN pledging conference. "Despite claims to the contrary, violence in Rakhine state has not stopped. Thousands still enter on a daily basis," he said. Bangladesh's interior minister was in Yangon on Monday for talks to find a "durable solution", Ahsan said. But Myanmar continued to issue "propaganda projecting Rohingyas as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh", Ahsan said, adding: "This blatant denial of the ethnic identity of Rohingyas remains a stumbling bloc". Myanmar considers the Rohingya to be stateless, despite tracing their families' presence in the country for generations. The United Nations has appealed for $434 million to provide life-saving aid to 1.2 million people for six months. "We need more money to keep pace with intensifying needs. This is not an isolated crisis, it is the latest round in a decades-long cycle of persecution, violence and displacement," UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told the talks. "Children, women and men fleeing Myanmar are streaming into Bangladesh traumatised and destitute," he added. "We assess we have pledges of around $340 million," Lowcock said before the mid-day break in the meeting. New pledges included 30 million euros announced by the European Union, $15 million by Kuwait, 10 million Australian dollars by Australia and 12 million pounds from Britain. He reiterated the UN call on Myanmar to allow "full humanitarian access across Rakhine" where aid agencies have been denied entry. Myanmar must "guarantee the right to safe, voluntary and dignified return so that the Rohingya can live in peace with their human rights upheld in Rakhine", Lowcock said. REUTERS
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Hello Jammu News at 1:10:00 PM 0

Geneva, Oct 18: The United Nations refugee agency is concerned about the humanitarian condition of up to 15,000 Rohingya refugees who are stranded in paddy fields near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. “Since Sunday night, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh through the Anjuman Para border crossing point in Ukhia district in the country’s south-east,” Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters Tuesday in Geneva. “Many say they had initially chosen to remain in their homes in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state despite repeated threats to leave or be killed. They finally fled when their villages were set on fire,” he added. Tensions have escalated into violence in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state. Since 25 August, an estimated 582,000 Rohingya Muslims have arrived in Bangladesh. As of Tuesday morning, the new arrivals were still squatting in the paddy fields of Anjuman Para village, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side. UNHCR is advocating with the Bangladesh authorities to urgently admit these refugees fleeing violence and increasingly-difficult conditions back home. UNHCR and our partners are delivering food and water to the stranded refugees, among them children, women and the elderly who are dehydrated and hungry from the long journey. “Every minute counts given the fragile condition they’re arriving in,” said Mr Mahecic. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday that without immediate additional funding, the agency will not be able to continue providing lifesaving aid and protection to Rohingya children who have fled horrific violence in Myanmar. UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado told reporters in Geneva that almost 60 per cent of the refugees who have fled Myanmar since August 25 are children. “The growing needs are far outpacing resources,” she said, noting that as of Tuesday, UNICEF has received just 7 per cent of the $76 million required to provide emergency support to children over the next six months. Without more funding, UNICEF would soon have to stop lifesaving services. “Rohingya children have already endured atrocities. All of them need the lifesaving basics – shelter, food, water, vaccinations, protection – not tomorrow or next week or next month, but right now,” she said. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:26:00 PM 0

Geneva, Oct 7: United Nations agencies are seeking more funds to cope with the mass exodus of people fleeing violence in Myanmar into Bangladesh, which the top UN aid official described the world's fastest growing refugee crisis. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock told reporters here that the more than half a million people who have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar in recent weeks need a greater level of help from the international community. He called the situation “one of the most heart-rending,” recalling his encounter with an 11-year-old boy who was cradling his critically ill baby sister during his visit earlier this week to the host communities in Bangladesh. “His mother, the boy and his four siblings had set off on a journey lasting, I think nine days, fleeing violence and the burning of their village. The mother died on the journey. This little boy is now in sole charge of his four siblings, including his two-and-a-half-year-old severely acutely malnourished sister,” he said. Mr Lowcock, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said some $434 million will be required in the coming months, calling for donor support ahead of the pledging conference in Geneva later this month. For its part, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is seeking $83.7 million in additional funds for the next six months to help the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Latest estimates show that some 515,000 refugees have fled from Myanmar since 25 August, including people continuing to arrive this week by the thousands. The emergency assistance is focused on refugee protection, shelter, water and sanitation and bolstering the capacity of the local host communities across south-east Bangladesh. Relieving dramatic overcrowding in the two existing camps – Kutupalong and Nyapara – which are now twice their population prior to the latest crisis –is also a priority. In light of the scope and speed of displacement, UNHCR has declared a 'Level 3 Emergency' – the top level – for this crisis. In the context of Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), a Level 3 emergency would typically be a sudden onset complex emergency requiring the activation of a UN system-wide response, with agreed mechanisms, tools and procedures. “We have so far organised five airlifts, flying in some 500 metric tonnes of aid. More flights are being planned. We have also doubled the number of our staff in Bangladesh to almost 100,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is also appealing for $10.2 million to support critical health interventions in the Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar area. “The health needs of this immensely vulnerable population are massive, and growing,” said Roderico Ofrin, Regional Emergency Director for WHO South-East Asia in a press release. “Though WHO has provided critical support to health services delivery – including by supporting mobile medical teams and mobilizing life-saving medicines – the need to scale-up operations is clear.” WHO is currently working with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and partner agencies to plan and implement an oral cholera vaccination campaign that will provide life-saving protection against the disease to 900,000 people. Since the first signs of the rapid influx emerged, WHO has established joint coordination of the health sector to best utilize WHO's technical and operational capacity, and helped vaccinate 135,000 children against measles and rubella and 72,000 against polio. WHO also supported the provision of Vitamin A to 72,000 children. To increase access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, WHO has deployed an environmental health team to Cox's Bazar to assess and monitor drinking water and initiate cholera prevention measures. As part of this, WHO has provided supplies to treat 20,000 cases of diarrheal disease. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an estimated 2,000 Rohingya refugees a day are still arriving in Cox's Bazar. Observers believe that as many as 100,000 more people may be waiting to cross into Cox's Bazar from North Rakhine's Buthidaung Township in Myanmar. The UN migration agency this week issued an appeal for $120 million through March to provide desperately needed aid to the refugees who have flooded into Cox's Bazar. The IOM appeal is part of a broader humanitarian response plan seeking $434 million to help 1.2 million people, including the Bangladeshi host community. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 11:35:00 AM 0

New Delhi/Geneva, Sept 12 :  India today strongly rejected the criticism of the UN Human Rights Council chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein over its handling of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Mayanmar, Jammu and Kashmir situation and religious intolerance saying assessment of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience. In his response to the observations of the UN Human Rights chief, India’s Permanent Representative to UN at Geneva Ambassador Rajiv K Chander said he found the his remarks very ‘’perplexing’’. ‘’Tendentious judgements made on the basis of selective and even inaccurate reports do not further the understanding of human rights in any society,’’ he said. He underscored that India was concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges, so enforcing the laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion. Ambassador Chander said there appeared to be inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions. He expressed surprise that individual incidents were being extrapolated to suggest a broader societal situation. ‘’India is proud of its independent judiciary, freedom of press, vibrant civil society and respect for rule of law and human rights. A more informed view would have not only recognised this but also noted, for example, that the Prime Minister himself publicly condemned violence in the name of cow protection. India does not condone any actions in violation of law and imputations to the contrary are not justified, ‘’ he said. On the comments of Mr Hussein on human rights situations in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, he said it was a matter of regret that the central role of terrorism was once again being overlooked, adding that ‘’assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience.’’ ‘’India believes that achieving human rights goals calls for objective consideration, balanced judgements and verification of facts. Our Government’s motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” that is All Together and Development for All, is a true reflection of our commitment to achieve inclusive development in the spirit of leaving none of our citizens behind,’’ Ambassador Chander said. UNI
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