April 2021 — Page 2 of 17 — Human Rights & Charity

UK’s 85% family planning aid cut will be devastating for women and girls: UNFPA

“When funding stops, women and girls suffer”, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, said in a statement, “especially the poor, those living in remote, underserved communities and through humanitarian crises.”

Dr. Kanem added that the UNFPA deeply regrets the UK’s decision to step away from its commitments at a time when inequalities are deepening, and international solidarity is needed more than ever.

Impact of the cuts

The withdrawal of approximately $180 million to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership, would have helped prevent around 250,000 maternal and child deaths, 14.6 million unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million unsafe abortions, she added. 

Whilst acknowledging the challenging situation facing many donor governments, Dr. Kanem said the UNFPA deeply regrets the UK’s decision to step away from its commitments at a time when inequalities are deepening and international solidarity is needed more than ever.

154 million GBP ($211 million) had been the expected contribution from the UK for 2021. This will now be reduced to around 23 million GBP ($32 million), a retreat from agreed commitments made to the programme in 2020. 

In addition, 12 million GBP ($17 million) is to be cut from UNFPA’s core operating funds. Several country-level agreements are also likely to be impacted.

Delivering on rights to modern contraceptives

Dr. Kanem stated that the UNFPA remained dedicated to its mandate and is currently assessing the full scope and impact of the cuts, whilst actively formulating mitigation strategies. 

Reiterating the rights of women and girls to modern contraceptives, Dr. Kanem called on all the agency’s partners and allies to come together and secure the viability of UNFPA Supplies and of all its programmes. 

In this Decade of Action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unfinished business of the International Conference on Population and Development programme, to deliver on the promises made to women and girls must be finished.

They are counting on us, Dr. Kanem said.

UN providing equipment and supplies to help India fight rapid COVID-19 surge

“In India’s time of need, the UN is doing everything it can to rapidly provide critical equipment and supplies to central and state governments”, said Resident Coordinator Renata Lok Dessallien.

WHO and sister agency the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, are procuring equipment and supplies, including 7,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 nasal devices for oxygen supply, in addition to oxygen generating plants, COVID-19 testing machines, and personal protective kits.

“The current rapid surge of COVID-19 cases has put immense pressure on the health systems, already overburdened since the start of the pandemic. We need to act with speed, expand hospital capacities and equip them with medical supplies, most needed to save lives”, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for WHO in South-East Asia.

The region has led the world in COVID-19 infections for a third straight week, mainly due to the situation in India, which has recorded 2.17 million new cases, or a 52 per cent increase.

Mobile field hospitals

WHO is helping India to scale-up additional hospital beds by procuring mobile field hospitals which could be set up in the most affected areas. The field hospitals have a capacity of 20 to 30 beds but can be increased to a maximum of 50, if needed.

The agency is also providing for laboratories to meet the huge demand for testing, and over 2,600 staff have been redeployed from programmes for polio and neglected tropical diseases to support pandemic response.

Meanwhile, in the western state of Maharashtra, the second most populous in the country, UNICEF has engaged experts to work on risk governance.

In it together

India this week completed a 100-day COVID-19 vaccination drive, with 145 million doses administered. Dr Khetrapal Singh said efforts to ramp up vaccination coverage are needed.

She also stressed the need to continue key public health measures, such as testing and contact tracing, along with physical distancing, proper hand washing and use of masks, to curtail virus transmission.

Dr Khetrapal Singh underlined WHO’s commitment to continue working with health authorities at all levels, saying “Together we must do all we can to halt the current COVID-19 surge”.

More uniformed women in peace operations, ‘key priority’

“It is one of our commitments to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda under the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping Initiative (A4P) and will remain a priority” during the next phase of A4P and A4P+, said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations (DPO).

He was speaking at the launch of the UN Elsie Initiative Fund, where it was announced that Liberia, Mexico, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone will receive financial support to increase the participation of women military personnel and police in peace operations.

“Women can fill any position in peacekeeping as well or better than men”, he said.

One way of promoting participation is by recognizing their contributions in different roles and positions throughout UN missions, including steering the public discussion away from so-called “women’s added value”, which he said “often silently places a burden of justification on women”.

Diverse teams

To improve the way UN missions operate, Mr. Lacroix underscored the importance of diverse teams in which both women and men can “contribute their skills, experiences and perspectives to the fullest”.

“When our operations reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, we are more successful at building trust with them and at understanding the different security needs of the men, women, boys and girls that are part of these communities”, he explained.

Moreover, he argued that it is critical in protecting civilians and implementing peacekeeping’s mandate overall.

Meeting targets

Since the launch of the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy in 2018, DPO has made good progress in meeting its targets, according to the peacekeeping chief.

He said that from 2018 to 2021, the number of women Staff Officers and Military Observers had increased from 12.3 to 17.8 per cent; the number of women Individual Police Officers from 22.3 to 30.4 per cent; and women in Formed Police Units went from 9 to 14.8 per cent.

And a newly introduced requirement that all Infantry Units deploy with Engagement Platoons, a minimum of 50 per cent women, should also improve that situation.

Transformation needed

But increasing the number of women deployed is not enough, underscored Mr. Lacroix, saying: “We need to transform our institutions to ensure that women can participate and contribute fully as part of our peace operations”.

He lauded the Elsie Initiative as “an essential partner” in providing support and resources to achieve this goal, both to Troop and Police Contributing Countries and UN-led initiatives.

In the framework of the Elsie Initiative Project for Field Missions’ Facilities and Infrastructures, he gave the example of DPO’s work with the Department of Operational Support (DOS) on a “200-person conceptual camp design that incorporates design improvements for women in our missions”.

Maintaining ‘fragile gains’

Yet, despite good progress, the peacekeeping chief said that more must be done to “maintain these fragile gains” and continue supporting women’s meaningful participation in peace operations.

In partnership with Troop and Police Contributing Countries and other Member States, he stressed that everyone must “work even harder on this shared commitment”.

Full partnership ‘essential’

Meanwhile, Executive Director of UN Women and Fund Co-Chair Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka upheld that accelerating women’s full and equal participation in security institutions is “essential to ensuring they are representative, responsive and accountable to all”.

Outlining that it would take 30 years to reach gender parity for military troops; 12 for formed police units; eight for individual police officers and seven for military observers and staff officers, she spelled out: “Women cannot afford to wait this long”.

“Institutional transformation is only possible when it is driven by leaders who create an enabling environment for women and who commit firmly to zero tolerance for sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse, and an end to impunity for perpetrators” she said.

First Person: Panic as COVID-19 ‘tsunami’ hits India

The number of new infections in India is tipping over 300,000 per day and more than 200,000 have died from the infection, although many there believe the figure could be a lot higher.

Anshu Sharma, works for the UN News Hindi service and has filed this personal account, from her base in New Delhi, about living in the shadow of the pandemic.

“When COVID-19 began spreading in India in March 2020, no one really understood the gravity of the situation, but today, more than a year later the pandemic has taken an ugly turn impacting all of us, not least my own family.

As a reporter for UN News, I began as a detached observer charting the impact of COVID-19 across South Asia. But that changed when a member of my family passed away due to a delay in treatment caused by an overwhelmed and panic-stricken health service. It was a desperately sad and surreal time for my family as we consoled each other in lockdown.

Around this time, my cousin was stranded in Nigeria; we had been trying to bring him home for months and in July we succeeded and suddenly, we had a ray of hope amidst the gloom.

But really testing times were yet to come

He began quarantine in a hotel for 14-days, as per the rules, but developed a fever and was rushed to hospital. Before the doctors could diagnose his condition, he passed away due to multiple organ failure. We learnt later that he had died of malaria. Though indirectly, once again, coronavirus had snatched another member of my family.

But really testing times were yet to come.

A few months later, in September, I went to visit my elderly mother and brother in another city and despite taking all possible precautions my worst fears came true; we all tested positive for the virus and spent two weeks battling the daunting infection.

Fearing the worst during this period, I used to wake up at night to check on everyone. Each day felt like a struggle and I experienced endless anxiety. The only relief was that we did recover in home quarantine and none of us had to be hospitalized.

Vicious mind game

I can now say that due to the uncertainties involved, COVID-19 played havoc with my mental, more than physical, health. It is a vicious mind game!

Precautions were still being observed on a large scale, but people were beginning to get careless. This was the lull before the storm!

This period has absolutely changed my perspective and now I understand the real value of life. It is important to live life to the fullest and spend time with your loved ones.

Towards the end of 2020, COVID-19 cases started declining and it looked as though India had conquered the pandemic. And while the world was praising India for its victory over the virus, the country was preparing to start the world’s largest vaccination campaign.

It looked as if the end of pandemic was in sight and life was returning to normal. The markets and malls were buzzing with activity.

Precautions were still being observed on a large scale, but people were beginning to get careless. This was the lull before the storm!

Second wave

And then came the second wave of COVID-19, which took everyone by surprise.

The number of infections started increasing, from a few thousand a day, to more than 300,000; a COVID-19 tsunami was sweeping across the country. And then three more members of my immediate family caught the virus, and my heart sank.

I went through a range of emotions. At first, I was angry with myself for throwing caution to the wind in the last few weeks and letting my guard down. I experienced extreme helplessness in the face of the virus and was anxious to know if antibodies from my previous infection would protect me from reinfection?

Condolence messages

Today, many states and cities in India are under curfew and health workers are working day and night to contain the spread while the mainstream and social media, is dominated by tragic COVID-19 stories. My hands and heart are tired of writing condolence messages.

The healthcare system is overwhelmed. Desperate pleas for medicines, ICU beds in hospitals, oxygen cylinders and injections, are everywhere on social media.

This pandemic has brought this country of 1.3 billion people to its knees.

Stories of compassion

My personal struggle with COVID-19 seems meaningless compared to what my compatriots are experiencing, but there are some positives.

Initially, COVID-19 patients were treated as untouchables and society shunned them. But now, people are helping each other.

There is a sense of solidarity and I have heard plenty of stories of compassion involving friends, neighbours and strangers

Neighbours are supporting each other, shopkeepers are delivering goods to those in need, places of worship are being converted into isolation centers to meet the shortage of hospital beds, and local community halls are collecting money and arranging oxygen concentrators.

There is a sense of solidarity and I have heard plenty of stories of compassion involving friends, neighbours and strangers.

The first wave separated loved ones, and although the second has brought people together, there is not a single home in India where COVID-19 has not cast its oppressive and ominous shadow.

As individuals and as a country, we are still looking for that light at the end of the tunnel”.

370,000 children displaced in Central African Republic; highest level since 2014

At least 168,000 children were forced to flee their homes following widespread violence and insecurity in the run-up to the general election of last December, and during its aftermath.

Around 70,000 of them have not been able to return. This brings the total to 370,000 internally displaced children across the country. Displaced children are at risk of exposure to sexual and physical violence, recruitment to armed forces and groups, increasing rates of malnutrition and limited access to essential services.

Recruitment by armed forces

Recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups, remains the most frequent grave child rights violation in CAR, accounting for 584 out of a total of 792 cases of confirmed grave violations documented in 2020.

UNICEF Representative in CAR, Fran Equiza, told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday that in the last three months of 2020 alone, the UN verified more grave violations than in the entire first half of the same year – 415 incidents affecting 353 children were carried out compared to 384 incidents involving 284 children.

“In June 2020, the government of the Central African Republic adopted a national child protection code, which, for the first time, explicitly prohibits the recruitment and use of children by armed groups and forces, and clearly states that children formerly associated with armed groups should not be treated as adults”, he said.

But UNICEF has received unverified reports indicating that child recruitment and use, has continued over the first four months of 2021.

Health services

Despite CAR generally registering a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases, the epidemic has had a severe impact, including a significant decrease of overall immunization rates, and the closure and disruption of services for forcibly displaced children, and victims of violence.

Incidents of gender-based violence against children spiked at the height of the pandemic’s first wave and during school closures.

The recent escalation of violence has forced schools to be shut, occupied, or damaged in 11 out of the country’s 16 prefectures. “One in every four schools is not functional because of fighting, and half the country’s children are out of school because of conflict,” said Mr. Equiza.

Nutrition

At least 24,000 children under five, across 14 of the Central African Republic’s 35 health districts, are at risk of severe acute malnutrition following the recent spike in violence across the country.

Out of these 14 districts, six currently have no resources or capacity to respond to children’s acute needs. This year, at least 62,000 children under five are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a 25 per cent increase from 2020.

Humanitarian access

Humanitarian access remains a major concern, with 115 incidents against aid workers recorded by OCHA in January and February 2021, vs. 46 in the same period of 2020.

This has contributed to the suspension or reduction of humanitarian presence in most affected areas. “CAR remains one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian workers,” said Mr. Equiza.

Limited food supplies in the local market and the poor condition of roads are also important challenges when it comes to quick availability and deployment of supplies.

UNICEF’s response

UNICEF has continued to strengthen its child protection activities across the country. This includes the deployment of mobile child protection teams who can reach vulnerable children, including those located in remote areas.

UNICEF and its partners are also working to provide children with mental health and psychosocial activities through child-friendly spaces and other community-based interventions.

“As part of the longer-term process of reintegration to their families and in their communities, children formerly associated with armed forces and groups are benefitting from specialized programmes that allow them to go back to school or receive vocational training,” said Mr. Equiza.

However, “approximately one in five of these children has not yet been enrolled in reintegration programmes, mainly due to funding constraints,” he added. In 2021, the organisation is seeking $8.2 million to scale up its activities in support of children and women affected by violence, exploitation, and abuse.

Filipino investigative journalist to receive UN press freedom prize

For over three decades, Ms. Ressa has been involved in many initiatives to promote press freedom and currently manages the online outlet, Rappler. Her work however, also made her a target for attacks and abuse, UNESCO – the UN agency tasked with defending press freedom – said in a news release.

Ms. Ressa was chosen for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize following the recommendation of an international jury of media professionals.

“Maria Ressa’s unerring fight for freedom of expression is an example for many journalists around the world. Her case is emblematic of global trends that represent a real threat to press freedom, and therefore to democracy”, Marilu Mastrogiovanni, Chair of the Prize’s international jury and an investigative journalist from Italy, said.

The award ceremony will take place on 2 May in Windhoek, Namibia, during the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference. It will be streamed online.

According to UNESCO, Ms. Ressa has been arrested for “alleged crimes related to the exercise of her profession”, and has been subject to a sustained campaign of gendered online abuse, threats and harassment, which at one point, resulted in her receiving an average of over 90 hateful messages an hour on Facebook.

The former lead investigative journalist for Asia at CNN and head of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, Ms. Ressa was also among a group of journalists named as Time Magazine’s person of the year in 2018.

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

UNESCO’s press freedom prize is named after Guillermo Cano Isaza, the Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogotá, Colombia, on 17 December 1986.

The $25,000 Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the defence or promotion of press freedom, especially in the face of danger.

It is funded by the Guillermo Cano Isaza Foundation (Colombia), the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (Finland) and the Namibia Media Trust.

Information as a public good

Hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Namibia, the 2021 World Press Freedom Day Global Conference will be held from 29 April to 3 May under the theme of information as a public good, and will focus on topics such as transparency of online platforms and the importance of media and information literacy.

The conference will also tackle ways to promote and support independent media struggling to survive a crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when national and local media everywhere face financial instability and other pressures threatening their survival and their journalists’ jobs.

COVID-19 cases rise for ninth consecutive week, variants continue spreading

Nearly 5.7 million new cases were reported in the last seven-day period, above previous highs, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest coronavirus update published late Tuesday.

The number of deaths from the virus also increased – now for the sixth consecutive week – with more than 87,000 confirmed victims.

Southeast Asia spike

All parts of the world reported falling numbers of infections, apart from Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions.

And although Southeast Asia reported the highest increases in infections and deaths for the third week in a row, it was India that accounted for the vast majority of cases, with 2.17 million new cases – a 52 per cent increase.

This is the equivalent of nearly four in 10 global cases reported in the past week, followed by the United States (with 406,001 new cases, representing a 15 per cent decrease), Brazil (404,623 new cases, a 12 per cent decrease), Turkey (378,771 cases, a nine per cent decrease) and France (211,674 new cases, a nine per cent decrease).

Mutations

On the three known coronavirus variants of concern, WHO said that the so-called UK strain has been detected and verified in three more countries since last week, bringing the total to 139; that’s effectively most of the world, except Greenland and several central and southern African nations.

The South African origin variant is in 87 countries and the mutations first found in Brazil and Japan, has been reported in 54.

Monitoring is ongoing into seven other so-called “variants of interest”, the UN health agency said.

Globally, there have been more than 148 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3.1 million deaths, according to WHO.

As of 27 April 2021, a total of 961,231,417 vaccine doses have been administered.

Revived peace process, lasting calm, and a new constitution needed in Syria

Against the backdrop of violence, terrorism, displacement, instability, destitution and COVID, Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen said via video conference that as more men are killed and injured, women have had to become leaders of their households.

Noting that the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board met for the first time in a year, he pointed to their focus as what “many Syrians want to achieve for their country”, namely a renewed political process, lasting calm and a new constitution that “guarantees the rights and freedoms of all in Syria”.

“They want to see…a sustainable peace achieved with the meaningful participation of Syrian women, with women’s safety, basic needs, dignity, rights and equality at its core”, he stated.

Rise in hostilities

The UN envoy updated the Council on a significant escalation in skirmishes in the northwest; a “perennially unstable” southwest; ISIL terrorist attacks in the northeast and central Syria; and a “steady rise in hostilities” in several cities, among other deteriorating situations.

He warned that “it is all-too-easy to become immune to these kinds of developments – and the dangers they could lead to” and stressed the need to prioritize “the proactive search” for a conflict settlement.

Economic destitution

Mr. Pederson painted a picture of a decade of conflict, destruction, corruption and mismanagement along with the pandemic and sanctions, during which “food prices remain at historic highs” and unabated inflation.

“2.4 million are now food insecure – an increase of 4.5 million in the last year alone”, he said, adding that fuel shortages also remain “a key concern”.

Among other things, the UN official spoke of concerns on the deterioration of Syria’s social fabric and reiterated the Secretary-General’s appeal to avoid sanctions on allowing Syrians “to access food, essential health supplies and COVID-19 medical support”.

The UN envoy attested to a lack of “real progress” on prisoner releases, which have only been a trickle to date, and urged for immediate unilateral releases.

Underscoring the importance of “unblocking progress” on detainees and abductees, he also reiterated his appeal “to undertake meaningful actions on missing persons – at a scale that is commensurate with the scope of this tragic issue”.

International diplomacy

Mr. Pedersen argued for “more constructive and comprehensive international diplomacy” regarding Syria to “unlock” step-by-step progress.

He recognized the “mistrust” of some and you-move-first desire of others that is impeding progress but believed that “exploratory” discussions can help identify new resources and participants to promote peace.

“There is enough at stake and enough common interest for us to try”, said the UN envoy. “We should not lose further time in exploring this seriously”.

On the “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned” Constitutional Committee, he underscored the need for a political process that upholds resolution 2254, and urged that steps be taken to generate movement.

He conveyed the need for “constructive international diplomacy”, as the path “to help the Syrian people to navigate out of their terrible crisis and towards a better future that…restores Syria’s sovereignty, unity independence and territorial integrity”.

COVID conundrum

Meanwhile, Emergency Relief Coordinator and UN Humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock had five points to emphasize to ambassadors, beginning with the COVID pandemic.

While there has been some disagreement on the scale of infections, it is clear that cases are rising and accelerating – particularly at refugee camps.

The UN is providing PPE, training medical workers and helping to roll-out vaccinations he said, and last week, the first batch of UN-backed COVAX vaccines arrived with additional deliveries expected throughout the year to cover around 20 per cent of the population.

“But that’s obviously not nearly enough”, he said.

‘Historically high’ food prices

On the economic crisis, the Emergency Coordinator highlighted a “volatile exchange rate” that is making provisions difficult to afford in some regions.

As food prices overall “remain at historically high levels”, he said that food security assessments across the country show a worsening situation.

And ongoing fuel shortages are increasingly affecting humanitarian operations.

“Several field missions were cancelled this month because there wasn’t enough fuel to conduct them”, stated Mr. Lowcock.

Protection

The Emergency Relief coordinator shone a light on the recent deaths of four humanitarians, spelling out that “humanitarian workers…must be protected”.

He also highlighted “scandalous” conditions in Al-Hol – the largest camp for refugees and internally displaced people in Syria, where the families of many former ISIL extremists have languished for months.

Calling the situation there a “collective failure to protect women and children”, the UN official urged States to repatriate their nationals.

Turning to his fourth point, humanitarian access, the Emergency Coordinator underscored the importance of cross-border aid authorization.

“Every month, the cross-border operation reaches some 2.4 million people who depend on it for food, medicines, shelter and other vital supplies”, he said, calling it a “lifeline” that must not be severed.

UN delivery assistance

Finally, the relief chief draw attention to the Organization’s delivering of aid.

At the fifth Brussels conference on 30 March, pledges of $4.4 billion have helped sustain a “massive” UN -coordinated humanitarian operation that reaches some 7.7 million people every month around the country, he said.

But Mr. Lowcock added that additional resources and access are needed this year to assist 12.3 million Syrians

Pandemic cannot become a ‘media extinction event’: UN Secretary-General

With newspapers alone losing an estimated $30 billion last year, “some fear that the pandemic could become a ‘media extinction event’”, he warned.

“We cannot afford to let this happen”, the UN chief said in pre-recorded message. “Maintaining independent, fact-based reporting is an essential global public good, critical to building a safer, healthier and greener future.”

The ‘infodemic’ threat

The Secretary-General called for countries to support the newly established International Fund for Public Interest Media, particularly to secure the future of independent media organizations in low- and middle-income countries.

Listen below to our UN News interview with Sheetal Vyas on the issue:

Wednesday’s discussion was held ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. It was co-organized by the UN Department of Global Communications (DGC) in cooperation with the philanthropic organization Luminate, in support of Verified, a UN initiative to share fact-based COVID-19 information.

The pandemic has revealed how access to reliable information is more than just a basic human right, but also a matter of life and death, and the UN has been working to counter related misinformation and disinformation, as well as hate speech, which have risen along with the caseload.

Ghana’s Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, told participants that the “infodemic” has only added to the economic woes which the media is facing.

“As people manufacture false materials and throw it out there, and as media revenues are cut and therefore the levels of professionalism that you require have a tendency to suffer, the compounding effect is that the credibility of media outlets is threatened, specifically when they begin airing some of these misinformed or fabricated materials over and over again”, he said.

Salary cuts, layoffs, mental health toll

That the pandemic is strangling media globally was confirmed in a survey of 14,000 journalists and news managers in 125 countries, conducted by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and Columbia University, both based in the United States.

Media depend on advertising revenues, and more than 40 per cent reported declines of between 50 and 75 per cent. The result has been salary cuts and staff layoffs “at a time when people desperately needed information”, said Joyce Barnathan, the ICFJ President.

Their “snapshot” also revealed the pandemic’s mental toll on the people who bring us the news.

Some 70 per cent of journalists found the psychological and emotional impacts were the most difficult part of their work. Around one-third said their organizations had not provided them with protective equipment. Women journalists also reported “startling” attacks.

Democracy at risk

As economies slowly return to a new normal, Ms. Barnathan expects ad revenues will also come back. However, she wondered if their levels will be sufficient to fund vibrant public interest media globally because something greater is at stake.

“At risk is not just journalism but, in my view, the future of democracies”, she said.

Award-winning Filipina journalist Maria Ressa supported this belief, stating that the “mission” of journalism has never been more important. Most people now get their news from social media such as Facebook, but she said these same platforms “are biased against facts”.

“If we don’t have facts, then we don’t have a shared reality”, said Ms. Ressa, this year’s recipient of a UN press freedom prize. “A lie told a million times becomes a fact. Without facts, we can’t have truth. Without truth, we can’t have trust.”

Disruption and innovation

With the current business model of journalism essentially “dead”, and advertising being siphoned off by Facebook and other tech giants, Ms Ressa stressed that public interest media organizations must “deal with the tech” to survive.

Fellow journalist Maria Teresa Ronderos from Colombia believed the current period of “disruption” could lead to experimentation and innovation in their profession. She underlined the need for funding.

“But to experiment, you fail, and that is costly”, she said. “If journalism gets the support it needs at this really big, large scale, it can use the technology to do investigative reporting, to connect with people, to connect with audiences, in a much more qualitative way than it ever did.”

Renewed clashes displace thousands in Myanmar, UN reports

According to the Office, almost 50 clashes between the military and the Kachin Independence Army were reported in several places in Kachin state, including use of airstrikes by security forces as well as mortar shelling by both sides, displacing nearly 5,000 people and damaging several homes.

“Around 800 people returned to their villages of origin within a few days and an estimated 4,000 people remain displaced in various sites, including in churches and monasteries”, OCHA said in a humanitarian bulletin.

This was the first reported displacement in the country’s northernmost state since September 2018. Kachin had been hosting about 95,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in long-term camps since 2011.

“Humanitarians and local host communities are doing their best to provide emergency assistance to the newly displaced people, despite the operational challenges and insecurity”, OCHA added.

In neighboring Northern Shan state, escalating clashes since January forced about 10,900 people to flee their homes, of whom nearly 4,000 remain displaced, the Office added, noting that hostilities had also increased since February in Kayin and Bago states, displacing almost 40,000 people.

About 3,000 people, mostly from Kayin, reportedly crossed the border into Thailand. The majority are said to have since returned.

Funds needed for assistance

Apart from the ongoing political strife in the aftermath of the military takeover on 1 February, nearly a million people across Myanmar, over two-thirds of them women and children, identified at the start of 2021, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

UN and humanitarian partners launched a $276 million response plan to assist nearly 950,000 people through 2021. However, into the last week of April, only 12 per cent or $32 million of the amount needed has been received.

Rising hunger and desperation

There are also fears of a sharp rise in hunger and desperation across Myanmar due to the triple impact of pre-existing poverty, the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing political crisis.

Estimates by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) indicate that up to 3.4 million people – particularly those in urban centres – would be hit by high levels of food insecurity over the next six months.

Already, there are signs of families in and around Yangon being pushed to the edge, skipping meals, eating less nutritious food and going into debt, just to survive, the agency said last week, as it mounted a new food assistance programme to help the most vulnerable.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, warned that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, almost a third of the country’s children were living in poor households.

“In the current crisis, the situation has worsened. UNICEF is working to support the most vulnerable children and families across Myanmar, ensuring their access to lifesaving services”, the agency said on Monday.