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Paving the way for a sustainable future: A conversation with UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis

UN News Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming speaks with the President of the General Assembly Dennis Francis.
INTERNATIONAL, 11 April 2024, UN Affairs - Dennis Francis, the current President of the UN General Assembly, recently launched a signature initiative to propel sustainable practices and address pressing development challenges confronting people and the planet.
The upcoming Sustainability Week, which spotlights five key sectors from 15 to 19 April, and the #ChooseSustainability campaign, calling on Member States, UN entities, civil society as well as the wider public to pledge actions that make a difference towards a better future.

Mr. Francis sat down with Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communication, and outlined his plans for the Week as well as his own personal pledge for the #ChooseSustainability campaign.

“Sustainability is important because it has everything to do with the success of our existence on this planet,” he said in the exclusive interview.

Sustainability Week focuses the themes of debt sustainability and socioeconomic equality (15 April), tourism (16 April), transport (17 April), global resilience and infrastructure development (18 April), and sustainable energy (19 April).

The conversation highlights the importance of sustainability and the role each of us can play in creating a sustainable future. It serves as a reminder that sustainability is not just about the environment, but also about economic development and social equity.  

As Mr. Francis said, “there is no conflict. Between achieving economic success and achieving sustainability. there’s absolutely no conflict. It’s been done in some places. It requires commitment. And it requires vision and I think we have both. We have both.”

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Make 2024 a ‘turning point’ for education, UN deputy chief urges

UN Photo/Loey Felipe Addressing a high-level education on education convened by the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Amina Mohammed paid tribute in particular to the children of Gaza.
INTERNATIONAL, 11 April 2024, Women - The UN Deputy Secretary-General on Thursday called for a transformation in learning, stressing that receiving a good education represents hope for all future generations.
Addressing a high-level education on education convened by the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Amina Mohammed paid tribute in particular to the children of Gaza, who have had no education for over six months, and where there have been direct hits on 212 schools.

“Today, the light for Gaza and the children of Gaza, is out. We need a commitment to try to light that candle again for the children and the people of Gaza. Education is hope. Education is the future,” she said.

Building momentum

This year will see a series of meetings that will build on the Transforming Education Summit convened by the UN in September 2022 in response to a global crisis in education, after more than 90 per cent of the world’s children lost access to the classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September this year, world leaders will gather to forge a new international consensus as part of the Summit of the Future. 

 Ms. Mohammed called for two specific outcomes on education at the Summit. 

“First, we need a clear recognition from world leaders of the urgent need to transform and invest in education as a global imperative,” she said.

“Second, we need major breakthroughs on issues that are critical for education, including reform of the international financial architecture, strengthened digital cooperation and a new agenda for peace.”

Education a human right

Without additional measures, an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be denied access to the classroom by 2030, and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic – and vital – numeracy and literacy skills.

“Education is a fundamental human right. Investing in education is the greatest investment we can make in our common future, in peace, and sustainable development, and particularly in gender equality,” Ms. Mohammed stressed.

Contemporary education systems across the world are beset by challenges, including access, equity, relevance and digital inequality – which could leave billions of people behind, she added.

“I know that we can make 2024 a turning point for education. Let’s get to it.”

Spotlight on violence against women

During her visit to Brussels, the Deputy Secretary-General also chaired the Governing Body meeting of the Spotlight Initiative, the world’s largest targeted effort to eliminate violence against women and girls.  

The UN initiative is in partnership with the (EU) and other stakeholders and responds to all forms of violence against women and girls. 

Its programmes across 30 countries and regions, focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence and rising rates of femicide, together with human trafficking. 

Since 2019, the initiative has resulted in more than 2.5 million women and girls accessing gender-based violence services, and two million men and boys have been educated on positive masculinity.

 
 
 
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World News in Brief: Shipwreck tragedy off Djibouti coast, drone attacks continue at Ukraine nuclear plant, Madagascar cyclone update

© IOM Djibouti The ill-fated boat, off the Djibouti coast, near the coastal town of Obock, in northeastern Djibouti, which was packed with over 60 migrants before becoming shipwrecked. At least 38 migrants died.
INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, Peace and Security - At least 38 migrants - including women and children – died when their overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the UN migration agency (IOM) reported on Tuesday.
The incident took place at around 4 AM local time on Monday, about 200 meters offshore near the coastal town of Obock. 

Twenty-two people were rescued by local fishermen and are being given treatment and support by IOM, agency spokesperson Yvonne Ndege told UN News in an exclusive interview.

At least six others are missing and presumed dead. Around 66 migrants in total were onboard travelling across the Gulf of Aden, from Yemen to Djibouti.

Well-travelled route

Every year thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa, especially Ethiopia and Somalia, leave their homes in a bid to reach Gulf countries for work, travelling through Djibouti and across the Gulf of Aden.

But many find themselves stranded in Yemen, facing severe hardships amidst the ongoing war and economic crisis there. 

They are also at risk of abuse by smugglers and traffickers and have to contend with perilous sea journeys on their way back. 

“With reference to this latest tragedy these were migrants from the Horn of Africa predominantly from Ethiopia who were traveling back to Djibouti,” Ms. Ndege said.

Further drone attack on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant an ‘ominous development’

A further drone attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia marks an “ominous development” and a major worsening of safety and security, the head of the UN atomic watchdog, the IAEA, said on Tuesday.

Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency’s team of experts stationed at the plant – who verified the impact of several such attacks on the Russian-occupied plant on Sunday – reported hearing bursts of rifle fire followed by a loud explosion at 11:05am local time.

This was the same time that the plant later said an incoming drone had detonated on the roof of the facility’s training centre.

The incident adds to deepening concern over the already highly precarious nuclear safety and security situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the ZNPP, which has been shelled several times since the conflict started in February 2022 and lost all off-site power eight times.

The training centre is located just outside the site perimeter, around half a kilometre from reactor unit 1, and the incident did not pose any threat to nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP, whose six reactors have all been shut down for the past 20 months.

'Playing with fire'

However, there are ZNPP staff routinely present there. The IAEA team requested immediate access to the building to assess the possible impact but was informed that the military security situation did not allow it. 

“Today’s reported incident – although outside the site perimeter – is an ominous development as it indicates an apparent readiness to continue these attacks, despite the grave dangers they pose to nuclear safety and security and our repeated calls for military restraint”, said Mr. Grossi.

“Whoever is behind them, they are playing with fire. Attacking a nuclear power plant is extremely irresponsible and dangerous, and it must stop,” he added. 

Over 200,000 need humanitarian aid following Madagascar cyclone

An estimated 220,000 people require immediate humanitarian assistance due to the catastrophic impact of Tuesday’s tropical cyclone Gamane in northeast Madagascar.

The storm made landfall on March 27 in the northeast of Madagascar, wreaking havoc in the regions of Analanjirofo, Diana, Atsinanana, and Sava. 

“The cyclone exacerbates the hardships of populations already burdened by multiple crises," said Roger Charles Evina, IOM Chief of Mission in Madagascar. 

“El Nino conditions resulted in erratic rainfalls in the past months, with populations in the Grand Sud bracing for a severe drought, while Tropical Storm Alvaro in January and excessive rainfall in February have resulted in major flooding in the north and southwestern regions, affecting close to 52,000 people.”  

In response to the devastation caused, IOM participated in a joint aerial assessment conducted on 30 March by humanitarian partners and the National Office for Risks and Disaster Management.

Initial reports indicate that over 535,000 people have been affected across 33 flooded communes, with 18 people killed and 22,000 persons displaced. 

Close to 19,000 homes were flooded and extensive damage are reported on roads and essential infrastructures, including 22 health centres and 135 schools.

More than 2,200 hectares of rice fields face the risk of being silted, jeopardising livelihoods of populations across the affected areas. 

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Massive investment and financial reform needed to rescue SDGs

UN News/Daniel Dickinson Traders in Madagascar. one of the most under-developed countries in Africa, transport charcoal to market.

INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, SDGs - Financing for sustainable development is at a crossroads and without urgent investment, global efforts to achieve a more just and equitable world by 2030 will fail, the UN deputy chief warned on Tuesday. 

Presenting the latest UN report on the issue, Amina Mohammed called for “a surge in investment” and reform of the international financial system to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are woefully offtrack. 

World leaders adopted the 17 SDGs nearly a decade ago and they include ending extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring availability to clean water and sanitation, and reducing inequality within and among countries.

‘Finance is the crux’ 

“At our current rates, we estimate some 600 million people will still be living in extreme poverty beyond 2030. And as the report shows, finance is the crux of the problem,” Ms. Mohammed said, speaking at UN Headquarters in New York.

The 2024 Financing for Sustainable Development Report says urgent steps are needed to mobilise financing at scale to close the development financing gap, now estimated at $4.2 trillion annually, up from $ 2.5 trillion before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions, climate disasters and a global cost-of-living crisis have hit billions of people, battering progress on healthcare, education, and other development targets. 

Drowning in debt 

Staggering debt burdens and rising borrowing costs are large contributors to the sustainable development crisis. 

Estimates are that in the least developed countries, debt service will be $40 billion annually between 2023 and 2025, up more than 50 per cent from $26 billion in 2022. Stronger and more frequent climate related disasters account for more than half of the debt upsurge in vulnerable countries.  

Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed said roughly 40 per cent of the global population, some 3.3 billion people, live in countries where governments now spend more on interest payments than on education or health.  

Meanwhile, the global economy is not supporting investment and development as it should, she noted. Average growth rates have steadily declined over the last 25 years, from over six per cent before the global financial crisis more than 15 years ago to around four per cent today. 

Reform outdated financial system 

The report calls for scaling up public and private investment in the SDGs, highlighting the importance of reform of the development bank system.   

In this regard, donors also need to make good on commitments on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and climate finance. 

Secondly, the current international financial architecture – established nearly 80 years ago – must also be remade as it is “no longer fit for purpose”, she said, and developing countries should have a greater voice in global economic governance. 

Close ‘credibility gaps’ 

Finally, world leaders must close “credibility gaps” and trust deficits. This is especially the case for wealthier nations, which have made promises on global governance reform, aid delivery, and domestic reforms to tackle corruption and inequality, including gender inequality. 

Stating that the report’s message could not be clearer, Ms. Mohammed said “we must choose now either to succeed together or we will fail together,” stressing that “failure is not an option.” 

The report also encourages governments to make the most of “significant opportunities ahead”, she added, pointing to major conferences such as the Summit of the Future at UN Headquarters in September and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development scheduled for next year. 

The Summit has been described as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, and to reaffirm commitments, including to the SDGs. 

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Assembly President announces first-ever ‘Sustainability Week’

UN Photo/Manuel Elías United Nations General Assembly prepares to hold a meeting on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. (file)
INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, UN Affairs - The President of the General Assembly on Tuesday announced the UN body’s inaugural Sustainability Week, encapsulating a series of high-level discussions and initiatives aimed at propelling the implementation of sustainable practices and to address pressing challenges.
To be held from 15 to 19 April, President Dennis Francis’ flagship initiative converges various mandated events into a singular, impactful week, elevating the discourse on such critical sectors as tourism, infrastructure, energy and transport.

“The Sustainability Week initiative is essentially designed to galvanise momentum around sustainability in a way that helps to supercharge implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Mr. Francis told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York.

He added that high-level participation is anticipated from Heads of States and Governments, sector-specific ministers and key UN officials.

Sustainability Week highlights

  • 15 April: High-level thematic debate on debt sustainability and socioeconomic equality, highlighting the impact of surging debt on countries’ development trajectories
  • 16 April: High-level thematic event on tourism, addressing unsustainable practices within the industry and launching a statistical framework for measuring sustainability
  • 17 April: High-level meeting on sustainable transport, emphasising its importance in achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • 18 April: Informal dialogue on building global resilience and promoting sustainable development through infrastructure connectivity
  • 19 April: Global stock taking on sustainable energy, reflecting on progress and shortcomings over the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024 and launching a call to action to accelerate implementation of SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy
Beyond the 2030 Agenda

Assembly President Francis also highlighted initiatives beyond the 2030 Agenda, including the Choose Sustainability campaign, which encourages stakeholders to adopt pledges and sustainability practices.

“I encourage all permanent missions, stakeholders and the media to adopt pledges to promote sustainability and to declare their support on social media while adopting sustainability practices,” he said.

For its part, his office is, among other things, working to phase out the use of roll-up banners throughout the General Assembly and to replace them with long-lasting, energy-efficient LED screens.

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Colombia serves as ‘a model’ for countries using dialogue to forge peace

UN Photo/Santiago Puentes Viana Women's organisations in Colombia promote the importance of gender equality.
INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, Peace and Security - Colombia has reached an “important juncture” in advancing peace after decades of war, but efforts to sustain the current momentum must be redoubled, the head of a UN mission in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday.
“However difficult and demanding of patience, Colombia’s decision to prioritise dialogue as a principal means to resolve conflict sets the country apart as a model that is more relevant than ever in today’s world,” said Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia.

Emerging from decades of war, the Government has since made critical strides in implementing the 2016 Final Peace Agreement by advancing ongoing dialogue initiatives, he said, recalling the Council’s recent visit when members were able to observe firsthand the “deep desire for peace”, from the highest levels of government and state institutions through civil society and vulnerable communities in the regions still afflicted by conflict.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC), briefs members of the Security Council.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC), briefs members of the Security Council.

‘Still a long way to go’

“The key challenge for transforming that aspiration into reality is to channel the abundant political will and the drive of civil society into ever more tangible dividends of peace on the ground,” he said.

Eleven former combatants have been killed since the Secretary-General’s last report, and social leaders and entire communities still suffer the full impact of ongoing violence and the limited presence of State institutions in various regions, he said, adding that there is “still a long way to go” to meet the peace agreements ambitious goals.

Recommending better use of existing tools to implement the peace agreement, he called on the government to finalise legal instruments and reintegration programmes for former combatants to provide these men and women with certainty and consolidate their transition to civilian life.

Anticipating ‘concrete results’

However, the Secretary-General’s latest report recognises significant increases in budget allocations and efforts of the current government, he continued.

As such, he anticipated “concrete results”, including on the agreement’s provisions that seek to address the longstanding exclusion and disproportionate impact of the conflict on women, indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons and the soon-to-be-launched national action plan for implementing Security Council resolution 1325 – on women, peace and security.

“I trust that this Council will echo our calls to encourage all actors in Colombia to redouble their efforts to implement the 2016 Peace Agreement and to pursue dialogue as a way to further consolidate peace in the country,” he said.

Efforts are ongoing to reach communities around Colombia with health and education programmes.
PAHO/Karen González Abril
Efforts are ongoing to reach communities around Colombia with health and education programmes.

‘Scarred by war, yet hopeful for peace’

Marcela Sánchez, Executive Director of the non-governmental organisation Colombia Diversa, briefed the Council on the conflict’s impact on LGBTQ people and what remains to be done to ensure an inclusive peace.

“Thanks to our collective efforts, what was once unthinkable is now possible: peace initiatives that recognise all Colombians, slow but meaningful social change towards a world without discrimination and a legal framework rooted in the fundamental principle of equality,” she said. “I come from a country scarred by war, yet hopeful for peace.”

However, challenges persist, she said, as LGBTQ people have long been targeted for who they are due to entrenched patriarchal norms and discrimination, and Colombia remains “one of the deadliest countries in the world for human rights defenders”.

“Every attack against an LGBTQ person, every human rights defender killed and every murder left uninvestigated sends the message that our lives are dispensable,” she warned, pointing to reports of at least 6,000 crimes committed against them during the armed conflict and at least eight deaths against rights workers in 2023.

Preparations ahead of meetings in an indigenous community in Colombia.
Sinergias/Wilber Caballero
Preparations ahead of meetings in an indigenous community in Colombia.

‘Think of Colombia as a laboratory’

For a lasting peace, LGBTQ people must be involved in every stage of peacebuilding, she stressed, offering suggestions how the Security Council can recommend this process around the world, including by demanding the full participation of women and LGBTQ people in implementing Colombia’s peace agreement and calling for an end to all targeted intimidation and attacks and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

“Think of Colombia as a laboratory for implementing the principles of equality, non-discrimination and inclusivity that are so central to the women, peace and security agenda,” she said. “Success or failure here could set an important precedent for the protection of LGBTQ rights elsewhere in the world. We hope this Council seizes the opportunity to lead by example.”

She said she hoped “that the Security Council can send a powerful signal to the LGBTQ population in Colombia that their lives matter and that you will stand by your commitment to protect their rights”.

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UN continues to face aid access denials in Gaza

© UNRWA A young boy carries water cans in the Gaza Strip.

INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, Humanitarian Aid - UN-coordinated food convoys are three times more likely to be denied access to north Gaza than other aid convoys, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported on Tuesday. 

Israeli authorities have not given a clear reason why, said OCHA Spokesperson Jens Laerke, speaking during the regular briefing by UN humanitarian agencies in Geneva. 

“They very often deny and that is it, and it ends there. We do not get an explanation,” he said. 

In a widely reported telephone call last Thursday between United States President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel committed to reopen the Erez border crossing into northern Gaza as well as facilitate aid delivery via the nearby port of Ashdod. 

The White House said it would be watching closely but no date has been set by Israel to act and the concession over expanding routes into Gaza has yet to materialize, according to news reports. 

Mr. Laerke was asked about the opening of more aid corridors, particularly the Erez crossing, but said as of Monday night, OCHA had not received any information that it had opened. 

Denials and impediments 

OCHA issued a report this week which said that restrictions and denials of planned aid movements by Israeli authorities continue to hamper the delivery of life-saving assistance to the shattered enclave.

During March, more than half of UN-coordinated food missions to high-risk areas requiring coordination with Israeli authorities were either denied or impeded. 

Mr. Laerke was responding to journalists’ questions about the number of aid trucks entering Gaza and discrepancies between Israeli and UN figures. 

The Israeli defense ministry unit that coordinates and facilitates humanitarian aid for Gaza, known as COGAT, counts trucks that it screens and sends across the border while OCHA counts trucks that arrive at its warehouses, and “between those two, there are issues.”

Comparison ‘makes little sense’ 

Trucks screened by COGAT are typically only half full, in line with its requirements, he said. 

“When we count the trucks on the other side when they have been reloaded…they are full. Already there, the numbers will never match up,” he continued. 

He explained that counting day to day and comparing numbers “makes little sense” as it does not take into account delays at the crossing and in moving to warehouses.   

Israeli-imposed restrictions also prohibit Egyptian drivers and trucks from being in the same area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and trucks, so handovers are not smooth. 

Access to north Gaza 

Mr. Laerke stressed that moving aid inside Gaza “is another complication”, referring to the impediments and access denials. 

“Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70 per cent of people face famine conditions, are more likely, actually three times more likely, to be denied than any other humanitarian convoy with other kinds of material,” he said. 

He told journalists that aid distribution inside Gaza “is a major issue” due to security and safety reasons, and the breakdown of law and order.

“But we also stress that the obligation on the warring parties – and, in particular, I would say on Israel as the occupying power of Gaza - to facilitate and ensure humanitarian access does not stop at the border,” he said.  

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‘Fear and loss’ multiplies in Sudan exodus

© WFP/Jacques David Food is distributed to Sudanese refugees in Koufron, Chad.
INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, Migrants and Refugees - Over 8.5 million Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan since the war between rival militaries erupted last April, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
At least 1.8 million among them fled across the border into neighbouring, South Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt and Ethiopia; as well as Uganda.  

Thousands more are arriving by the day, agency spokesperson Olga Sarrado told journalists at the regular news briefing in Geneva.

The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its affiliated militias “has shattered people’s lives, filling them with fear and loss,” Ms. Sarrado said.

Urban middle class decimated

Over 13,000 people are reported to have been killed, thousands more injured, and attacks on civilians, and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence continue unabated.

“Sudan has experienced the almost complete destruction of its urban middle class: architects, doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, and students have lost everything,” Ms. Sarrado said.

“Access constraints, security risks and logistical challenges are hampering the humanitarian response. Without incomes, and amid disrupted aid deliveries and harvests, people cannot get food, prompting warnings of worsening hunger and malnutrition in parts of the country,” she added.

Refugee hosting countries

South Sudan has received the most refugees from Sudan, about 640,000 people, and on average 1,800 are still arriving every day, increasing pressure on overstretched infrastructure and exacerbating the vast humanitarian needs.

In Chad, the number exceeds 560,000 and while UNHCR and aid partners have managed to relocate most refugees to new and expanded settlements, over 150,000 remain in border areas in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, largely due to funding shortfalls.

Ethiopia, which already hosts one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, also reported continued new refugee arrivals, recently surpassing 50,000.

‘Desperate needs’

The situation for women and children is particularly alarming.

“Those crossing borders, mostly women and children, are arriving in remote areas with little to nothing and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care. Many families have been separated and arrive in distress,” Ms. Sarrado said.

“Parents and children have witnessed or experienced appalling violence, making psychosocial support a priority,” she said.

‘Critically low’ funding

The UNHCR spokesperson further warned that despite the magnitude of the crisis, “funding remains critically low”.

Only 7 per cent of the funds needed for the 2024 Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan have been fulfilled, while the response effort inside Sudan is just 6 per cent funded.  

“Firm commitments from the international community to support Sudan and the countries hosting refugees are needed to ensure those forced to flee by the war can live in dignity,” Ms. Sarrado urged.

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Hepatitis killing thousands daily, WHO warns in new report

© WHO/Sri Lanka Preventing hepatitis B infection through immunization in infancy substantially reduces chronic infections and cases of liver cancer and cirrhosis in adulthood.
INTERNATIONAL, 9 April 2024, Health - The number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis infections is increasing and already accounts for 3,500 deaths daily, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) released on Tuesday.
The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally, with 1.3 million deaths per year, the same as tuberculosis, another top infectious killer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report.

“This report paints a troubling picture,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Despite progress globally in preventing hepatitis infections, deaths are rising because far too few people with hepatitis are being diagnosed and treated.”

Swift course correction

Even though better tools for diagnosis and treatment are available and product prices are decreasing, testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled, the UN health agency stated in the report, released at the World Hepatitis Summit.

But, reaching the WHO elimination goal by 2030 should still be achievable, if swift action is taken now, the agency said.

“WHO is committed to supporting countries to use all the tools at their disposal – at access prices – to save lives and turn this trend around,” the UN health agency chief said.

The waiting area at a health clinic in Rwanda. Hepatitis B birth-dose immunization coverage is only 45 per cent globally, with less than 20 per cent coverage in the WHO African region.
© WHO/Isaac Rudakubana
The waiting area at a health clinic in Rwanda. Hepatitis B birth-dose immunization coverage is only 45 per cent globally, with less than 20 per cent coverage in the WHO African region.

Spike in deaths

More than 6,000 people are getting newly infected with viral hepatitis each day, according to the report.

New data from 187 countries show that the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. Of these, 83 per cent were caused by hepatitis B and 17 per cent by hepatitis C. 

Updated WHO estimates indicate that 254 million people live with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022. Half the burden of chronic hepatitis B and C infections is among people 30 and 54 years old, with 12 per cent among children. Men account for 58 per cent of all cases.

Gaps in diagnosis and treatment 

Across all regions, only 13 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B infection had been diagnosed and approximately three per cent, or seven million, had received antiviral therapy at the end of 2022, falling far below global targets to treat 80 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C by 2030.

The burden of viral hepatitis also varies regionally. The WHO African Region bears 63 per cent of new hepatitis B infections, yet despite this burden, only 18 per cent of newborns in the region receive the hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination.

In the western Pacific region, which accounts for 47 per cent of hepatitis B deaths, treatment coverage stands at 23 per cent among people diagnosed, which is far too low to reduce mortality.

In addition, despite the availability of affordable generic viral hepatitis medicines, many countries fail to procure them at these lower prices.

In Chile, new hepatitis treatments mean around 98 per cent of patients recover completely.
© PAHO
In Chile, new hepatitis treatments mean around 98 per cent of patients recover completely.

Eradicating the epidemic

The WHO report outlines a series of actions to advance a public health approach to viral hepatitis, designed to accelerate progress towards ending the epidemic by 2030.

They include expanding access to testing and diagnostics, strengthening primary care prevention efforts and shifting from policies to implementation for equitable treatment.

But funding remains a challenge, the agency said, with current levels insufficient to meet the needs.

WHO said this arises from a combination of factors, including limited awareness of cost-saving interventions and tools and competing health priorities.

The new report also highlights strategies for countries to address these inequities and access the tools at the most affordable prices available.

SDG 3
United Nations
SDG 3

SDG 3: HEALTHIER GLOBAL POPULATION

  • Promote mental health and wellbeing and strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse
  • Reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from pollution, contamination and tobacco
  • Achieve universal health coverage, and provide access to affordable, essential vaccines and medicines
  • Reduce global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and under-five mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births
  • End epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and combat hepatitis and other communicable diseases

Sustainable development hinges on ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing at all ages.

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World News in Brief: Haiti aid response, strikes across Lebanon’s Blue Line, UNEP welcomes Iran prisoner release, healthcare for the displaced

© FAHDRIS/Richy Mix A UNFPA-supported mobile health team visits a site for displaced people near Haïti’s capital Port-au-Prince.
INTERNATIONAL, 8 April 2024, Peace and Security - UN humanitarians on Monday made clear the emergency response in Haiti’s capital continues despite ongoing insecurity caused by months of gang-led violence there. 
Since early March, the World Food Programme (WFP) has reached more than 500,000 people, providing school meals, social protection and emergency activities nationwide.

The agency has also served some 500,000 hot meals to over 76,000 internally displaced persons in 57 sites in the greater Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. 

Aid partners have also delivered nearly four million litres of drinking water to 29 displacement sites benefiting more than 60,000 people, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

Gender-based violence

He added that UN children’s agency UNICEF’s response to a proliferation of gender-based violence has reached over 4,500 people, including psychosocial support. This includes passing on information about risks and services to combat gender-based violence in communities.  

The UN sexual and reproductive agency (UNFPA) continues to provide services through two hotlines – one for psychological support and the other dealing with referrals and case documentation.  

‘Unrelenting cycle of strikes and counterstrikes’ in Lebanon must end

Marking six months of escalating exchanges of fire across the Blue Line that marks the frontier between south Lebanon and northern Israel, two top UN officials in the country have issued an urgent appeal to all sides to recommit to ending hostilities, in line with Security Council resolution 1701.

In a joint statement on Monday, the Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and the Head of the Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, said combatants needed to use all means available to avoid further escalation, while there is still space for diplomacy. 

Dozens of civilians have tragically lost their lives while many more have lost homes and livelihoods, they added.

Suffering has gone on too long

“The unrelenting cycle of strikes and counterstrikes in breach of the cessation of hostilities constitute the most serious violation of Security Council resolution 1701 since its adoption in 2006,” the statement continued, referring to the last major conflict involving Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants.

“The violence and suffering has gone on too long. It must stop,” they declared. 

Both officials underscored the importance of focusing anew “on the overarching objective of a permanent ceasefire”, saying the UN stands ready to support such efforts.

“A political process” anchored in the resolution “is now more crucial than ever to address the root causes of the conflict and ensure long-term stability”. 

UNEP welcomes imminent release of conservationists from Iranian prison

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Monday it welcomed the impending release of four conservationists imprisoned in Iran, including former UNEP colleague, Niloufar Bayani.

According to the announcement from Tehran, Ms. Bayani will be freed along with Taher Ghadirian, Houman Jokar and Sepideh Kashani.

“UNEP looks forward to their effective release in the coming days,” the agency said.

Ms. Bayani and seven environmental conservationists were imprisoned in February 2018 and subsequently sentenced to lengthy jail terms.

Cheetah conservation

Between 2012 and 2017, Ms. Bayani worked as a consultant based out of UNEP’s Geneva office, returning to her home country to work on efforts to conserve the Persian or Asian cheetah, one of the most endangered large cat species in the world.

She was arrested in 2018 along with other internationally recognised experts in the field of nature conservation who have all dedicated their lives to conserving Iran’s wildlife, UNEP said.

“Over the past six years, we at UNEP have consistently called for the release of Ms. Bayani and the other conservationists,” the statement continued.

“As our natural world faces grave threats and the world reels from the impact of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, desertification and dust storms and pollution and waste, environmental conservationists are critical allies in protecting the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. They are essential to building a sustainable world for current and future generations.”  

Healthcare and education ‘inaccessible’ for displaced

Only one in two countries offer guaranteed healthcare and educational access to all migrants, UN migration experts said on Monday.

In a new report into migrants’ rights and opportunities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that only 18 per cent of European countries provided access to healthcare and just 27 per cent offered free schooling.

That’s well below the 70 per cent of countries offering medical coverage in the Americas, where primary and secondary education is available in 58 per cent of the region’s States.

Although the constitutions of many countries prohibit any discrimination based on nationality, race or place of birth, guaranteed access for migrants to health and education is rarely specified in other legislation, although IOM pointed out that The Gambia and Portugal have done so since 2008 and 2020, respectively.

Explicit guarantees

All countries should explicitly guarantee essential services for all migrants, IOM said, just as Brazil did in 2020, “for migrant children and adolescents, refugees, stateless people and asylum-seekers” wanting to go to school.

Portugal in 2019 also amended health laws to include “foreign permanent…and temporary residents, stateless persons, applicants for international protection and migrants”.

IOM’s findings came from surveying 100 countries, including 37 from Africa, 27 from the Americas, 25 from Asia and the Pacific and 11 from Europe.

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