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.

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 death toll from the measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 6,000 people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.  The outbreak is currently the worst in the world.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported today that an estimated 761,000 children were internally displaced by storms in the Caribbean between 2014 and 2018; that’s the hottest five-year period on record.  This is an increase of 600,000, compared to the 175,000 children displaced in the preceding five years.

The World Food Programme will need $196 million in 2020 to assist the growing number of people leaving Venezuela, as well as Colombian returnees.  The challenge in Colombia and Ecuador is such that the Governments need support to assist with the influx of migrants.  Six out of 10 migrants do not know where they will find their next meal.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a pilot programme to prequalify human insulin to increase treatment for diabetes in low- and middle-income countries — part of WHO’s efforts to address the growing diabetes burden.  Some 65 million people with type 2 diabetes need insulin, but only half of them can access it, largely due to high prices.

An estimated 60,000 young refugees and migrants, who arrived in Italy between 2014 and 2018 as unaccompanied children, still require support to ensure their successful transition into adulthood, a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the High Commissioner for Refugees finds.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that four incidents of unexploded ordnance injured eight children in Syria on 4 November.  The United Nations called on all parties to the conflict to allow clearance and education activities, given that 11.5 million people live in affected areas.

The first flight of humanitarian aid organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) arrived in Somalia today to help more than 20,000 people cut off by the worst flooding in years.