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UN Women/Pathumporn Thongking A healthcare worker checks the temperature of a patient at a hospital in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand.         1 August 2020 Expressing “appreciation for  WHO  and partners’ COVID-19 pandemic response efforts”, the emergency committee convened by the UN health agency’s chief,  made it clear  that there is not yet an end in sight to the public health crisis that has so far infected more than 17 million and killed over 650,000 people. The committee convened by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), held its fourth meeting on 31 July. Sustained effort needed In  its statement  following the meeting, published on Saturday, it highlighted the “anticipated lengthy duration” of the pandemic, noting “the importance of sustained community, national, regional, and global response efforts.”   After a

UN News/Daniel Dickinson A park in Brooklyn, New York, has marked out circles in order to enforce social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.         30 July 2020 Although older people are among those at highest risk of COVID-19, the head of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has reminded younger generations that they are “not invincible” when it comes to the disease. Evidence suggests that the spike in cases in some countries is partly due to younger people “letting down their guard during the northern hemisphere summer”,  WHO  chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus  said  on Thursday. “We have said it before and we’ll say it again: young people are not invincible”, he told journalists. “Young people can be infected; young people can die; and young people can transmit the virus to others.” He stressed that the world’s youth “should be leaders and drivers of change” during the  COVID-19  pandemic. Protect yoursel

© FAO/Max Valencia The Lo Valledor main wholesale market in Chile continues to provide the public during the COVID-19 pandemic with all the protective measures for them and the community.         23 July 2020 Health COVID-19 cases worldwide have surpassed 15 million, and nearly 620,000 deaths. On Thursday, the World Health Organization ( WHO ) urged people everywhere to play a part in preventing further spread of the disease, warning that there will be no return to “the old normal”. Most cases, or 10 million, were in just 10 countries, with the United States, Brazil and India accounting for nearly half. On Thursday afternoon, the US passed the milestone of four million infections. Life-and-death decisions “We’re asking everyone to treat the decisions about where they go, what they do, and who they meet with, as life-and-death decisions – because they are”,  said   WHO  chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking from Gene

© UNICEF/Sukhum Preechapanic During the coronavirus pandemic, mental health tips are being disseminated to children and families in the Rongwai community in Bangkok, Thailand.         14 May 2020 Health Decades of neglect and underinvestment in addressing people’s mental health needs have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN said on Thursday, in a call for ambitious commitments from countries in the way they treat psychological illness, amid a potential global spike in suicides and drug abuse. Spearheading the alert ahead of the upcoming World Health Assembly in Geneva, UN  Secretary-General António Guterres  urged the international community to do much more to protect all those facing mounting mental pressures. Launching the UN policy brief -  COVID-19  And The Need for Action On Mental Health – Mr. Guterres highlighted how those most at risk today, were “frontline healthcare workers, older people, adolescents and young people, those with pre-existing mental health conditions

COVID-19 fuels global health tensions 10 May 2020 Author: Belinda Townsend, ANU As of  10 May  over four million COVID-19 cases had been reported worldwide, with 280,000 confirmed deaths. The pandemic has highlighted the need for strong national health systems and regional infectious disease monitoring. Rising global health tensions urge the need for governments to prioritise international mechanisms that promote affordable access to new treatments and vaccines. As China reports fewer cases of COVID-19, it is  seeking to portray  itself as a global health leader by supplying medical experts, equipment and resources overseas. Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed China’s ambition for a ‘ Health Silk Road ’ with partner countries of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On  21 March  China sent 100,000 medical masks and 776 protective suits to Spain via existing BRI railway infrastructure. China’s Health Silk Road has its origins in a 2015  three-year plan  for health cooperation as p