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26 April 2021 Health A UN-led global immunization strategy was unveiled on Monday to reach more than 50 million children who have missed lifesaving jabs against diseases such as measles, yellow fever and diptheria, in large part because of COVID-19 disruption. “Even before the pandemic, there were worrying signs that we were beginning to lose ground in the fight against preventable child illness, with 20 million children already missing out on critical vaccinations”, said Henrietta Fore, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director. According to UNICEF, disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 meant that vaccine deliveries fell from 2.29 billion in 2019, to just over two billion vaccine doses last year. Lost ground “The pandemic has made a bad situation worse, causing millions more children to go unimmunized”, Ms. Fore maintained. “Now that vaccines are at the forefront of everyone’s minds, we must sustain this energy to help every child

Two boys at the Loda camp for internally displaced people in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo (file photo).UNICEF/Desjardins Two boys at the Loda camp for internally displaced people in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo (file photo). 26 April 2021 Peace and Security A recent spike in inter-community violence in the eastern province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is worsening the plight of children there, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Monday, urging greater international support. UNICEF and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned about the violence, which includes machete attacks and sexual assaults. A desperate humanitarian crisis Jean Metenier, UNICEF’s Senior Coordinator for Eastern DRC, said the agency will continue to raise the alarm to prevent the world from becoming numb to what he described as a desperate humanitarian crisis. “Every day, children and their rights are undermined through relentless vio

Use COVID-19 recovery to make inclusion ‘a reality’, UN chief says on World Day Mahmoud, who has autism, holding the letter P he was asked to find at his classroom in Egypt.UNICEF/Rehab El-Dalil Mahmoud, who has autism, holding the letter P he was asked to find at his classroom in Egypt. 2 April 2021 Health Building a more inclusive and accessible world that recognizes the contributions of all people, including persons with disabilities must be a “key goal” as countries work to recover from COVID-19 pandemic, United Nations Secretary-General said on Friday, commemorating World Autism Awareness Day. “The crisis has created new obstacles and challenges. But efforts to reignite the global economy offer an opportunity to reimagine the workplace to make diversity, inclusion and equity a reality”, Secretary-General António Guterres said. “Recovery is also a chance to rethink our systems of education and training to ensure that persons with autism are afforded opportunities for real