New UN-led global immunization push aims to save more than 50 million lives A young boy is vaccinated against measles and rubella during a national vaccination campaign in Bangladesh.© UNICEF/Jannatul Mawa

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 catch up on their measles, polio and other vaccines. We have no time to waste. Lost ground means lost lives.” Echoing that message, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus along with partner GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, urged universal access to immunization and far greater investment in primary health care to support mass jab drives. “Vaccines will help us end the COVID-19 pandemic but only if we ensure fair access for all countries, and build strong sy stems to deliver them”, he said. According to the UN health agency, immunization services have started to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. But a WHO survey indicated that more than one-third of respondent countries still report problems delivering routine jabs. 228 million at risk Today, 60 lifesaving mass vaccination campaigns have been postponed in 50 countries, putting around 228 million people - mostly children - at risk for diseases such as measles, yellow fever and polio, WHO warned. More than half of the 50 affected countries are in Africa, while measles campaigns have seen most disruption, accounting for 23 postponed vaccination drives, affecting an estimated 140 million people. “Many of these (measles) campaigns have been delayed for over a year”, WHO noted, warning that failure to protect against this highly contagious disease risks large outbreaks wherever people are unvaccinated. Serious measles outbreaks have already been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and Yemen as a result of gaps in vaccination coverage, WHO said, at the start of World Immunization Week 2021. These outbreaks are happening in places already grappling with conflict situations as well as service disruptions due to ongoing response measures to COVID-19. Lifesaving resource The world has vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives – as is their right - according to the Immunization Agenda 2030 strategy to support recovery from COVID-19 disruptions. “Strong immunization systems will be needed to ensure that people everywhere are protected against COVID-19 and other diseases” over the next decade, the campaign’s website explained, underscoring the savings and economic returns made by investing in vaccination programmes for individuals, communities and countries. “Ensuring everyone receives the vaccines they need will provide exceptional return on investment and help keep the world safe from future pandemics.” Finding the ‘zero-dose’ children “Millions of children across the world are likely to miss out on basic vaccines as the current pandemic threatens to unravel two decades of progress in routine immunization”, said Dr Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. To support the recovery from COVID-19 and “to fight future pandemics”, Dr Berkley called for routine immunization to be prioritized – and “to focus on reaching children who do not receive any routine vaccines, or ‘zero-dose’ children”. The Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) – uniting WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and other partners - focuses on vaccination throughout life, from infancy through to adolescence and older age. If fully implemented, it will avert an estimated 50 million deaths, according to WHO – 75 per cent of them in low and lower-middle income countries. Courtesy:UN News

DR Congo: ‘Relentless’ violence worsening plight of children in Ituri province

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 violence and grave rights violations, displacement, rising food insecurity, and lack of access to pretty much every basic service, including schooling”, he stated. “We say it over and again: we need the international community to step up, as our work is barely scratching the surface of needs.” Violations and displacement UNICEF said nearly 175 grave violations have occurred across Ituri since January, such as recruitment of children into armed groups, killing and maiming of children, sexual violence and attacks on schools and hospitals. In most cases, humanitarians were denied full access to the areas most affected by violence in Djugu and Irumu territories. The attacks have displaced a large number of people, UNICEF said, and more than 275 children, including 118 girls, have been separated from their parents. Ituri has a total population of 5.7 million people. It is estimated that more than 1.6 million people across the province are displaced, and 2.8 million are in need of some form of emergency assistance. Step up support UNICEF shared data on the full extent of the crisis there. More than 100,000 children under five suffer severe acute malnutrition: a direct consequence of food insecurity that is affecting nearly 800,000 people, while attacks on schools have affected around 400,000 children aged six to Courtesy:UN News11. Although the UN agency has provided non-food and hygiene items to more than 8,000 people in South Irumu territory - and is mobilizing partners in areas such as child protection, water, sanitation, and health - these efforts will not be enough to meet the immense needs. UNICEF is calling for aid agencies and donors to continue supporting response in the DRC, noting that its 2021 humanitarian appeal for $384.4 million is less than 20 per cent funded.

Use COVID-19 recovery to make inclusion ‘a reality’, UN chief says on World Day

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 realizing their potential”, he added. Breaking ‘old habits’ crucial Mr. Guterres also emphasized that breaking old habits will be crucial. For persons with autism, he added, access to decent work on an equal basis requires creating an enabling environment, along with reasonable accommodations. “To truly leave no one behind in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, we must realize the rights of all persons with disabilities, including persons with autism, ensuring their full participation in social, cultural and economic life”, he said. “Let us work together with all persons with disabilities and their representative organizations to find innovative solutions to recover better and build a better world for all.” Inequalities worsened by COVID-19 According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), one in 160 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD begins in childhood and tends to persist into adolescence and adulthood. Intervention during early childhood is important to promote the optimal development and well-being of persons with an ASD, WHO added, emphasizing the importance of monitoring of child development as part of routine maternal and child health care. While some individuals with ASD are able to live independently, others have severe disabilities and require life-long care and support. Persons with an ASD are also often subject to stigma and discrimination, including unjust deprivation of health care, education, protection under law, and opportunities to engage and participate in their communities. The World Day The World Autism Awareness Day, to be commemorated annually on 2 April, was established in December 2007 by the UN General Assembly, which affirmed that “ensuring and promoting the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities is critical to achieving internationally agreed development goals”. The General Assembly also highlighted the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate research and interventions for the growth and development of the individual, and called for efforts to raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding children with autism. courtesy:UN News