In progress at UNHQ

Africa


The United Nations and the Government of Bangladesh are making preparations as Super Cyclone Storm Amphan approaches landfall tomorrow, potentially impacting more than 14 million people in the country.  The Humanitarian Coordination Task Team and the Government are working on preparedness and response activities.

Without mitigation efforts, COVID-19-related service disruptions could result in more than 500,000 extra deaths from tuberculosis, HIV and other AIDS-related illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa from 2020 to 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme against HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) marked the fortieth anniversary of the eradication of smallpox — the first and only human disease eliminated globally through international collaboration — which killed 300 million people in the twentieth century.  Many of the tools used against smallpox are now combating COVID-19.

Today the World Food Programme announced that the United Arab Emirates will dedicate three aircraft until the end of 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic response, helping the World Health Organization and the global humanitarian community transport life-saving cargo and personnel to more than 100 countries in need.

Following an initiative by Jordan, 167 Member States and Permanent Observers have issued a statement of solidarity and appreciation to the City of New York in the midst of COVID-19.  New York City, the statement says, has been the home that has welcomed and nurtured collective action against global challenges.