A new International Labour Organization report finds that COVID-19 is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020, equivalent to 195 million full-time workers. The report highlights the worst affected sectors and regions, and outlines policies to mitigate the crisis.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General condemned the double suicide bombing by suspected Boko Haram fighters on 5 April in Amichidé, in the Far North region of Cameroon, reiterating the United Nations continued support to countries in the Lake Chad Basin as they address the security, economic and humanitarian challenges posed by that group.
The Education Cannot Wait Fund, which promotes education in emergencies, announced $23 million in grants to support vulnerable girls and boys facing the COVID-19 pandemic in 26 crisis-affected countries. The funding will support children’s continued learning while their schools are closed, including by scaling up distance education.
A new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report based on data from 57 countries finds that a quarter of women are not able to make their own decisions about accessing health care, and nearly one in ten is unable to make her own choices about using contraception.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is sending equipment to more than 40 countries to help them use nuclear-derived technology to rapidly detect COVID‑19. Dozens of labs will receive diagnostic machines to speed up national testing, biosafety supplies and personal protection equipment.
The United Nations donated 250,000 surplus protective face masks to the United States for New York City’s health workers who are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, as agencies called for a $2.5 trillion assistance package for developing countries, who face an estimated $220 billion in income losses.
The Secretary-General and top UN officials held a virtual briefing for Member States to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as his call for global ceasefires saw positive gains in Colombia, Syria and Yemen and UNICEF continued to procure and ship protective equipment and other vital supplies to affected countries.
The Secretary-General addressed the Group of 20 virtual summit on the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that transmission of the virus must be suppressed as quickly as possible through a coordinated response mechanism guided by the World Health Organization (WHO).
High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said today that broad sectoral sanctions should urgently be re-evaluated in countries facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Such measures could have a potentially debilitating impact on the health sector and human rights, she added.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees airlifted emergency relief items to Chad on 19 March, responding to the humanitarian needs of some 10,000 Sudanese refugees. Clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur region since late 2019 have forced more than 16,000 people, mostly women and children, to cross the border into Chad.