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World News in Brief: Another month of extreme heat, Sudan exodus continues into Chad, Zero Discrimination Day

Summarizing the state of the climate, the month ended with extreme heat in the southern hemisphere where it’s summer, while high temperatures atypical of the northern hemisphere winter prevailed.

Parts of North and South America, northwest and southeast Africa, southeast and far eastern Asia, western Australia and Europe all saw record-breaking temperatures, either on a daily basis or for all of February.

“The anomalous heat is consistent with the persisting warming observed since June 2023, with seven consecutive new global monthly temperature records, including January 2024,” said Alvaro Silva, a climatologist working with WMO.

Global sea surface temperatures are record high. While the El Niño weather pattern “has stoked temperatures in some parts of the world, human induced climate change is the long-term major contributing factor,” he added.

Conversely, a large part of northwestern Canada, central Asia – and from southern central Siberia to southeastern China  – witnessed exceptional cold during the last week of the month.

The meteorological winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere finish officially at the end of February.

Sudanese continuing to flee into Chad: UN refugee agency

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, raised increasing concern on Friday that more refugees will cross into Chad from Darfur in the coming weeks amid a worrying lack of food and other essentials.

Almost a year since the start of the civil war between rival militaries in Sudan, neighbouring Chad urgently needs more humanitarian aid and significant development investment, the agency reported, especially in its eastern areas which are hosting the refugee influx.

This investment will allow the country to continue its generous open-door stance towards refugees.

“Chadian officials are concerned that many more hungry Sudanese families will come in the next weeks,” said Kelly Clements, UNHCR’s Deputy High Commissioner, who is in the country to review the relief operation.

“The country is committed to keeping its borders open, despite the fragility of this region. But, doing so will put even more strain on Chad, which has so graciously been hosting refugees from Sudan’s war – now raging almost a year – and other refugees still here from earlier emergencies.”

State of emergency

In December, the World Food Programme (WFP) suspended rations to some refugee groups in the country due to lack of funds. Subsequently, the government declared a state of emergency for food and nutrition security. 

Food distributions from Chad across the border to Darfur, where the security and protection situation is alarming, have not been made for well over a month, with cross-border aid recently suspended.

Women and children represent some 90 per cent of all refugees. Around 77 per cent of women arrived alone in Chad, with children.

Many have been exposed to gender-based violence including rape, said UNHCR, and now require comprehensive support. The agency provides medical and some psychological support, but much more is needed.

“Arrivals have slowed in the last months, but that could change quickly,” Ms. Clements said. “Even without more coming, needs now run well beyond the capacities of humanitarian agencies. There are very real fears that the border region faces another paltry lean season before heavy rains lash the camps.”

More than 553,150 new refugees from Sudan had been counted by mid-February, making the country the largest host of refugees fleeing Sudan since the brutal war between Government troops and RSF militia erupted in mid-April 2023.

UNAIDS marks 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day

Progress on advancing equality and fairness for all, regardless of gender, sexuality or HIV status, is in peril, said the UN agency dedicated to ending AIDS by 2030, marking Zero Discrimination Day. 

The day of activism was established by UNAIDS a decade ago. 

But, despite improvements in some societies, attacks on the rights of women and girls, of LGBTQ+ people and of other marginalized communities are increasing. 

“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and are harmful to health. Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health.”

At the start of the AIDS pandemic 40 years ago, two thirds of countries in the world criminalized LGBTQ+ people. Today, two thirds of countries do not, the agency noted.

Some 38 countries around the world have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, and today, 50 million more girls are in school than in 2015.

UNAIDS said it was crucial to keep supporting women’s movements, LGBTQ+ rights as well as campaigns for racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and for an end to conflict. 

The UN is by your side

“As communities across the world stand up for rights, the United Nations is not only on their side, but by their side,” said the agency in its statement marking the day.

On the day, and across the whole of March, events are being organised to remind the world of this vital lesson and call to action: by protecting everyone’s health, we can protect everyone’s rights.

“Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to secure a safer, fairer, kinder and happier world for everyone,” added Ms. Byanyima.

Senior officials call for action and solutions at UN Environment Assembly

“Your efforts are urgent,” he said in a video message to the sixth edition of the UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6). 

“Our planet is on the brink, ecosystems are collapsing, our climate is imploding, and humanity is to blame.” 

Action now 

The UNEA is the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment and aims to help restore harmony between people and nature. 

This latest session concludes on Friday, and representatives from more than 180 countries have been negotiating resolutions on issues ranging from nature-based solutions and highly hazardous pesticides to land degradation and drought.  

Delegates’ focus has also been on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). These regional and international accords, some of which are more than 50 years old, have helped to protect endangered species and  limit chemical pollution, among other concerns. 

UNEA role critical 

In his message on Thursday – the Assembly’s high-level segment – the Secretary-General spoke about the fallout from the environmental crises that the planet is facing, ranging from poisoned rivers to rising sea levels.

He stressed the need for action, including to accelerate the shift to renewable energy, adapt to extreme weather and to deliver climate justice, highlighting the UNEA’s vital role. 

“You have shown before that you can unite and deliver – most recently with your historic decision to negotiate a plastic treaty,” he said. “I urge you to do so again – and go further.” 

A sustainable environment 

The President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, also addressed UNEA-6, centering his remarks on the connection between a healthy environment and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

“For years, we have known that a healthy environment is both an essential requirement for, and key enabler of, a more safe, just, and prosperous tomorrow,” he said. 

Although the goals provide a blueprint for a more just and equitable future for both people and the planet, he warned that they are “woefully off track” of their 2030 deadline.

“Given that we are confronting an environmental emergency and the consequential need to act with urgency, we must ensure that the outcome of this UNEA-6 advances the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment – that, it promotes truly multilateral responses to restore the balance with nature,” he said. 

Health under threat 

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spoke of the “inextricable, yet fragile” bond between the health of humans, animals and the environment. 

If the planet were a patient “it would be admitted to intensive care”, he said. Therefore, no wonder human health is also suffering. 

For example, he said more frequent and severe weather events cause deaths and injuries,  more heatwaves contribute to more cardiovascular disease, while air pollution drives lung cancer, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 

Other species have also been affected. Climate change is leading to shifts in the behaviour, distribution, movement, range, and intensity of mosquitoes, birds and other animals that are spreading infectious diseases such as dengue and malaria to new areas. 

Furthermore, illegal wildlife trading is also increasing the risk of zoonotic spillover that can trigger a pandemic, thus highlighting the importance of primary prevention to reduce risk.  

“The threats to health from climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss are not hypothetical risks in the future. They are right here and right now, which makes health the most compelling reason for climate action,” he said. 

With the “patient” in peril, Tedros called for transforming energy, transport, food and health systems, adding that “we must transform especially ourselves, to break out of our siloed mindsets and work for effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral action.”  

At least one in eight people now obese, warns WHO

That’s one billion people who lived with the disease in 2022, a number that has doubled among adults and quadrupled among five to 19-year-olds since 1990, according to data from the study, published in The Lancet, a renowned United Kingdom-based medical journal.

“This new study highlights the importance of preventing and managing obesity from early life to adulthood through diet, physical activity and adequate care, as needed,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, which contributed to the study.

Global targets to curb obesity

A complex chronic disease, obesity has become a crisis, unfolding in epidemic proportions that reflect a stark rise over the past few decades.

While the causes are well understood, as are the evidence-based interventions needed to contain the crisis, the problem is that they are not implemented, according to the UN health agency.

“Getting back on track to meet the global targets for curbing obesity will take the work of governments and communities, supported by evidence-based policies from WHO and national public health agencies,” the UN health chief said.

It also requires the cooperation of the private sector, which must be accountable for the health impacts of their products, he added.

The study’s data also showed that 43 per cent of adults were overweight in 2022.

Deadly consequences

In the Europe, overweight and obesity are among the leading causes of death and disability, with estimates suggesting they cause more than 1.2 million deaths annually, according to WHO’s regional office.

Obesity increases the risk for many noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. Overweight people and those living with obesity have been disproportionately affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, often experiencing more severe disease and other complications, the UN health agency said.

It is considered a cause of at least 13 different types of cancer, likely to be directly responsible for at least 200,000 new cancer cases annually across Europe, according to WHO.

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

Undernutrition challenges

Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes obesity, inadequate vitamins or minerals and being overweight. It also includes undernutrition, which covers wasting, stunting and being underweight (or thinness) and is responsible for half of the deaths of children under five.

The study showed that even though the rates of undernutrition have dropped, it is still a public health challenge in many places, particularly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Countries with the highest combined rates of underweight, or thinness, and obesity in 2022 were island nations in the Pacific and the Caribbean and those in the Middle East and North Africa.

WHO’s acceleration plan

At the World Health Assembly in 2022, Member States adopted the WHO acceleration plan to stop obesity, which supports country-level action through 2030.

To date, 31 governments are now leading the way to curb the obesity epidemic by implementing the plan.

Some of the ways they are doing that include such core interventions as breastfeeding promotion and regulations on the harmful marketing of food and beverages to children.

Healthy diets for all

A healthy diet can prevent obesity.
© Unsplash/Anna Pelzer

A healthy diet can prevent obesity.

One of the co-authors of the study, Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Nutrition and Food Safety Department, said there are “significant challenges” in implementing policies that aim to ensure affordable access to healthy diets for all and create environments conducive to physical activity and overall healthy lifestyles.

“Countries should also ensure that health systems integrate the prevention and management of obesity into the basic package of services,” he said.

Addressing undernutrition requires action in the agriculture, social protection and health sectors to reduce food insecurity, improve access to clean water and sanitation and ensure universal access to essential nutrition interventions, according to the UN health agency.

The new study used data from 200 countries and territories, including 3,663 population-based studies with 222 million participants. WHO contributed to the data collection and analysis of the study and disseminated the full dataset through its Global Health Observatory.

No medicine, no hope: Doctors describe life under Israeli attack in Gaza

“Life is very difficult here,” hospital manager Dr. Haidar Al-Qudra told UN News.

Currently, only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are “partially functioning”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with the rest destroyed by Israel’s near constant bombardment of the enclave.

As the war in Gaza enters its fifth month, Israeli forces continue to raid healthcare facilities, with Al Amal Hospital among the latest to endure a weeks-long deadly siege. Israel claims Hamas is operating in hospitals, but Palestinian authorities and medical professionals have refuted those allegations.

Al Amal Hospital took 40 direct hits that killed at least 25 people and incapacitated the health facility, according to a report from the UN Humanitarian Country Team in Palestine.

Buildings continue to be peppered by Israeli sniper fire, communications blackouts and the detention of health workers alongside drastic shortages of essential goods and restrictions on what lifesaving supplies can enter the complex, according to UN agencies and news reports.

‘We are surrounded now’

Since the start of the siege on Al Amal in January, more than 8,000 displaced people have been evacuated from the complex, many having used the premises as shelter from Israeli attacks in the area.

Nearby fighting and multiple bombings found health workers “were afraid for their lives” and, for more than a month, they have been unable to leave the hospital buildings, Dr. Al-Qudra said.

“We are surrounded now, and patients cannot reach the hospital because they are not allowed to walk in the streets near the hospital,” he said. “Our ambulances now cannot move outside the hospital.”

Dr. Haidar Al-Qudra, manager of Al Amal Hospital.
UN News

Dr. Haidar Al-Qudra, manager of Al Amal Hospital.

‘Most patients have either died or are suffering’

Many surgical cases had been postponed, he warned, noting that five months had passed without many operations being performed, from mastectomies and thyroidectomies.

“All of these normal operations were not performed in any hospital, therefore, most of these patients either died or they are suffering more and more,” Dr. Al-Qudra said.

Extensive damage has also forced management to try to transfer patients to get the care they need. After the ceiling on the third floor collapsed, he said they would now refer around 35 patients to other nearby hospitals.

But, the remaining hospitals across Gaza are badly overcrowded. In Rafah, 77 newborns were sharing 20 incubators, according to UNFPA.

At Rafah’s Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital, 77 babies share 20 incubators. 
© UNFPA Palestine/Bisan Ouda

At Rafah’s Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital, 77 babies share 20 incubators. 

‘First time we see the sun’

Dr. Waheed Qudih, a surgical consultant at Al Amal Hospital, was among the medical staff trapped inside during the siege.

“This is the first time we see the sun,” he said, referring to the arrival of a joint UN mission to the battered premises this week. “We have not been allowed to leave the hospital door since 21 January.”

He, like others, he stayed inside on site “to help injured patients”.

“We perform a lot of surgeries for injured patients, such as general surgery and orthopaedics,” he explained. “We have saved the lives of many patients, and we did what we could with limited facilities.”

Dr. Waheed Qudih, a consultant surgeon at Al Amal Hospital.
UN News

Dr. Waheed Qudih, a consultant surgeon at Al Amal Hospital.

Joint UN relief mission

Following reports of the besieged medical centre, the UN deployed a joint mission, with WHO alongside agencies for humanitarian affairs office OCHA, the mine action service (UNMAS), reproductive health agency UNFPA, the safety and security department (UNDSS) and UNRWA, the Palestine refugee relief agency.

Meeting with health workers in the besieged hospital and checking on the condition of the patients and companions inside, the mission’s goal was to evacuate 24 patients and deliver lifesaving food, water and fuel as well as emergency surgical supplies and antibiotics to treat an estimated 50 infections.

The mission had to leave 31 non-critical patients behind, an OCHA spokesperson said on Tuesday, highlighting that the Israeli military had not given “any information or any communication” about why the mission ambulances were detained for at least seven hours nor why the paramedics “had been taken out, forced to undress”.

‘There are still patients here’

Dr. Athanasios Gargavannis, a trauma surgeon and WHO emergency staff member, said the level of devastation he witnessed is “beyond imaginable”.

“However, there are still patients here,” he said. “Our top priority is to identify and refer a number of them so they can continue to receive care.”

As chronic delays at Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing continues, with news reports showing Israeli protesters blocking the entry of aid into Gaza, some nations have resorted to emergency aid airdrops this week.

But, that represents only a tiny portion of what is needed at Al Amal and other Gaza health centres.

WHO and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society lead lifesaving missions to transfer critical patients from besieged hospitals in Gaza.
© WHO/Christopher Black

WHO and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society lead lifesaving missions to transfer critical patients from besieged hospitals in Gaza.

‘No respect for any humanitarian law’

At Al Amal Hospital, Dr. Al-Qudra said that before the war, it had 100 beds, focused on maternal and child health and was able to meet basic surgical and internal medicine needs while providing specialized rehabilitation services.

The destruction caused by the bombing of the third floor reduced the capacity to an estimated 60 beds. Supplies are scarce. Communications blackouts continue.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces continued to detain seven team members for nearly three weeks, including a doctor, anesthesia technician and ambulance staff, who were taken into custody during Israel’s raid on Al Amal Hospital, according to media reports.

These days in Gaza, Dr. Al-Qudra stressed, there is “no respect for any rule or any humanitarian law related to the medical staff”.

UN staff help to transfer patients out of Nasser Hospital in Gaza.
© WHO/Christopher Black

UN staff help to transfer patients out of Nasser Hospital in Gaza.

 

Donate to the humanitarian response in Gaza

World News in Brief: Noncommunicable diseases in emergencies, aid plan for Haiti, peace efforts in CAR

NCDs are responsible for 75 per cent of deaths worldwide, and it is estimated that strokes and heart attacks are up to three times more likely following a disaster, they said. 

To save more lives, they are meeting in Denmark this week to ensure that care and treatment for NCDs are included as a standard part of humanitarian emergency preparedness and response. 

Conditions worsen during crisis 

“People living with NCDs in humanitarian crises are more likely to see their condition worsen due to trauma, stress, or the inability to access medicines or services,” said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

WHO has convened the three-day meeting alongside Denmark, Jordan, Kenya, and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which opened in Copenhagen on Tuesday. 

The number of crises impacting people’s health has been increasing, they reported. 

Last year, WHO responded to 65 graded health emergencies worldwide, up from 40 a decade earlier.  UNHCR also issued 43 emergency declarations to scale up support in 29 countries – the highest number in decades.

The UN estimates that 300 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2024, with over half in need of emergency health assistance.

Families gather at a site for displaced persons in Tabarre, Haiti.
© UNICEF/Ndiaga Seck

Families gather at a site for displaced persons in Tabarre, Haiti.

$674 million humanitarian plan for Haiti 

Moving to Haiti, where the UN, Government and partners have launched a $674 million plan to meet humanitarian needs this year.

The plan seeks to provide food, shelter, health, education and protection services for 3.6 million people, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, speaking in New York on Tuesday. 

He said it comes against the backdrop of a serious protection crisis for millions in Haiti.

In 2023, the country saw the highest number of murders, kidnappings, lynchings and sexual assaults in the last five years.  Additionally, nearly one in two Haitians are food insecure, and basic services are on the verge of collapse.

Rights expert commends peace efforts in Central African Republic 

An expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council has urged the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) to continue efforts towards peace and stability.

Yao Agbetse, Independent Expert on human rights in the CAR, concluded a 10-day visit to the country on Tuesday.

He welcomed efforts by the Government to extend security to significant parts of the territory, while highlighting remaining challenges beyond urban areas.

“Despite progress, daily insecurity persists due to armed groups entrenched in remote regions, particularly forests and mining sites,” he said in a statement. 

The rights expert addressed recent incidents, such as an attack on the village of Nzakoundou, located in Lim-Pendé prefecture, where the 3Rs armed group allegedly targeted army checkpoints, resulting in casualties and civilian deaths. 

Call for accountability

Condemning the violence, he stressed the importance of holding perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to account. 

“The use of explosive devices in various prefectures has further aggravated the situation, causing civilian casualties, with children being particularly affected, and disrupting essential activities such as schooling and agricultural activities,” he added.  

He also called for support for demining efforts, urging technical and financial partners to provide assistance to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and to integrate demining specialists into the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MINUSCA. 

Independent experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva.

They receive their mandates from the Council, are not UN staff and receive no payment for their work. 

 

 

General Assembly President calls for solidarity with Ukraine as ‘needless war’ reaches two-year mark

“As we reflect on the two years of anguish and hardship, let us emerge from this place with a resounding message of solidarity and unwavering support to the resilient people of Ukraine,” he said, speaking on the eve of the solemn anniversary. 

The Security Council is also set to meet later on Friday on Ukraine, where fresh strikes were reported on the cities of Odesa and Dnipro, just one day after deadly attacks in the Donetsk region, located in the east. 

Destruction and devastation 

Addressing representatives of the UN’s 193 Member States gathered in the General Assembly Hall in New York, Mr. Francis stated that they “can neither be blind to the ongoing destruction and devastation, nor ignore the plight of the people of Ukraine.” 

“This is especially so, because this year also coincides with the tenth anniversary of the 2014 attempted illegal annexation of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories by the Russian Federation,” he added. 

Russia’s full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022. Since then, thousands of people have been killed and injured, millions more uprooted, and schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure damaged. Scores of Ukrainian children have also been forcibly deported to Russia. 

Extensive impacts worldwide 

Mr. Francis said the impact of this “needless war” extends far beyond the borders of Ukraine as the environment is also “the silent victim of the conflict”, while the real risk of a nuclear accident persists. 

“And, ultimately, the war has affected every Member State gathered in this hall – whether in the form of the soaring food prices or in the context of energy insecurity.” 

Furthermore, the conflict has been a significant catalyst in reshaping global geopolitics and geoeconomics, he continued, as it is directly harming the countries involved while also impeding progress in many others, especially developing nations. 

UN Charter undermined 

“It is actively undermining the very foundations of our UN Charter – threatening the principles of sovereignty, and territorial integrity we all committed to hold dear and to defend,” he said. 

“It has disrupted the delicate balance of international relations – at a time when unity, solidarity and cooperation are absolutely crucial to multilateral problem-solving.

Mr. Francis noted that while the 15-member UN Security Council has been paralyzed by division over the conflict, the General Assembly has condemned Russia’s aggression and demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of its forces from Ukrainian territory. 

Work for peace 

“Beyond condemnations, we, the United Nations, must actively work towards a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in line with the Charter of this organization,” he said. 

The Assembly President called for redoubling efforts “to end wars and usher in a future of hope, promise and prosperity for the people in Ukraine and Russia, alike – and indeed elsewhere, without exception.” 

A family receives medical treatment in Odesa after being resuced in Kherson following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.
© UNICEF

A family receives medical treatment in Odesa after being resuced in Kherson following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

Bolstering healthcare in Ukraine 

Meanwhile, UN agencies have been reflecting on their response to the conflict in Ukraine, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has called Europe’s largest emergency.

WHO has been partnering with the Ministry of Health to determine, in real-time, what the key needs of the sector are and step in where needed to bolster existing systems.

Support has included regularly donating essential medical supplies, vehicles, and equipment to ensure existing healthcare facilities can continue functioning. 

Teams have also built temporary structures in communities where health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, thus ensuring that people can continue to receive care. Currently, 12 modular primary care clinics are open in locations across the south and the east of the country.  

WHO has verified 1,574 attacks on health since the war broke out, claiming the lives of 118 of health care workers, and impacting health facilities, transport, and warehouses.  

The conflict in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on children’s mental health and ability to learn.
© UNICEF/Aleksey Filippov

The conflict in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on children’s mental health and ability to learn.

Concern for children’s mental health

Russia’s full-scale invasion has taken a devastating toll on the mental health of Ukraine’s youngest citizens, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

The agency said boys and girls in frontline areas have been forced to spend between 3,000 and 5,000 hours – equivalent to between four to seven months – sheltering in basements, bunkers, or a hole in the ground. 

Seeking safety from missiles and drones is coming at a great cost for these children, said UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder who was in the city of Kharkiv this week, where he spoke to families and child psychologists.

“Around three-quarters of young people have recently reported needing some sort of psychological or emotional support; a fraction of those are getting it,” he said, speaking on Friday to journalists in Geneva.

“So, the ongoing shelling, the increased use of drones – all this is building into an awareness that children continue to be killed, and so it’s hindering families’ capacity to overcome the stress and trauma inflicted by this war.” 

Mr. Elder added that despite education being a fundamental source of hope and stability, it is chronically disrupted and beyond reach for a substantial segment of Ukraine’s children. 

“Children in frontline areas have been inside a school for a single week over the past four years – two years of COVID-19 and two years of full-scale war. In the Kharkiv region, two out of 700 schools are delivering in-person learning,” he said.

UNICEF’s response in Ukraine has included providing a network of psychologists who support children and their parents, helping them overcome distress and trauma and find some relief, some joy. 

The agency also supports the rebuilding of critical infrastructure such as schools and water systems, among other operations. 

First Person: Supporting mental health in Madagascar, one consultation at a time

Henrielle Emasignavy works for WHO in Ambovombe, where the Androy Regional Referral Hospital is based. She spoke about the care that is being provided to people who are struggling with mental health crises.

WHO’s Henrielle Emasignavy at the Androy Regional Referral Hospital.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson

WHO’s Henrielle Emasignavy at the Androy Regional Referral Hospital.

“In Ambovombe town, we are seeing a number of mental health conditions, including psychotic episodes, schizophrenia and depression.

There has been an increase in young people suffering from mental health episodes. We think that amongst young men it may be linked to cannabis use, and amongst young women between the ages of 13 and 18, it could be the breakup of a relationship or depression following the birth of a child.

One of the contributing causes for both men and women is the anxiety of constantly living under stressful conditions caused by the ongoing humanitarian crises in the south of Madagascar.

We have recently experienced drought and cyclones in different regions of the south which have compounded the effects of climate change as well as deep-rooted underdevelopment. This has left the many vulnerable people who live across the south struggling to survive. When crops fail, they have no safety net and often go hungry. Access to health and other social protection services can also be problematic.

‘Victims of sorcery’

I met one woman called Elodie who suffered postpartum psychosis after giving birth at age 20 and then losing her child six months later.

When I met her, I noticed a chain had been attached to her ankle.

Her mother told me that it was for her own safety as her daughter kept on trying to escape. There is a lot of stigma attached to people who suffer from mental health disorders. They are said to be “possessed” and the victims of sorcery.

Mental health problems are curable from a medical point of view, but increasing ignorance and poverty force people to resort to drastic measures such as tying up patients, which exacerbates the mental illnesses they suffer from.

The mother (centre) of Elodie (right) says she has responded well to medication.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson

The mother (centre) of Elodie (right) says she has responded well to medication.

Accessing care

Accessing treatment is hugely challenging for patients. The nearest specialist hospital for mental health treatment is between 600 kilometres away, so to meet the increased need for services, WHO has brought in medical teams for periodic out-patient care. 

During one three-day period, there was a total of 93 free consultations; 67 per cent of those patients were women, including Elodie, who was seen by a neurologist. As a result of this consultation, she was given medication which her mother says is improving the state of her mental health. Elodie is looking after herself better; for example, she is taking care of her personal hygiene.

WHO would like there to be more services available for people like Elodie, and while it is clear that a visiting psychiatrist can only do so much, I’m happy that we are able to help some patients on the road to recovery.

Elodie has the support of her mother and sister, but very sadly, the rest of the family rejected her and so she and her mother were forced out of the family home.

Her mother is hoping for a full recovery soon so Elodie can lead a normal life once again and so she can earn some money and contribute to the three-woman household.”

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

Stories from the UN Archive: Boris Karloff, leprosy and Nigeria

Actor Boris Karloff.
Public Domain

Actor Boris Karloff.

Famous for his role in the film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Mr. Karloff also acted in 130 movies, playing, as he called it, many “spine-chilling roles”.

Stepping out of those roles and into his “real self”, Mr. Karloff worked with UN Radio in 1959 to record a feature on how communities in Nigeria were coping with leprosy.

“If you still think that leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, leaves its victims greatly disfigured and dooms them to that condition, then you should have been with me in the rural clinic in Tiranka, in northern central Nigeria,” he said, over the sound of drumming.

Today, leprosy still occurs in about 120 countries, with more than 200,000 cases reported each year.

It’s a preventable and curable disease according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in its global strategy to eradicate it.

Efforts are now ongoing in every region of the world.

Listen to The Dance of New Life here, part of UN News’s series highlighting epic moments across the UN’s past, cultivated from the UN Audiovisual Library’s 49,400 hours of video and 18,000 hours of audio recordings.

Leprosy prevention programmes are now happening worldwide, including this school campaign in Recife, Brazil. (file)
PAHO/WHO

Leprosy prevention programmes are now happening worldwide, including this school campaign in Recife, Brazil. (file)

Stories from the UN Archive

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World News in Brief: Unprecedented cholera spike in Africa, Julian Assange extradition update, locusts compound Sudan crisis

Dr. Fiona Braka from WHO’s regional office in Brazzaville, Congo, said that eastern and southern Africa have been particularly badly affected.

In just the first four weeks of the year, 10 African countries reported more than 26,000 cases and 700 deaths, which is nearly double the number reported last year over the same period.

Zambia and Zimbabwe have been worst hit, but Mozambique, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria are also in the grip of “active outbreaks”, with a high risk of further spread, Dr. Braka said.

Preventable and treatable 

“We will continue to see records being broken as long as people do not have access to clean water and sanitation facilities,” she explained. “Cholera is preventable and treatable. No one, no longer, should die from it.”

Increased flooding associated with climate change has helped the spread of cholera, a preventable waterborne disease. More cyclones and droughts have also reduced access to clean water, creating an ideal environment for cholera to thrive.

Despite a global shortage of oral cholera vaccines, WHO supports inoculation drives in Zambia, where over 1.7 million people have been vaccinated. A campaign is also underway in Zimbabwe, which expects to provide protection to 2.3 million people.

WHO has also deployed over 100 medical experts and dispatched emergency supplies to affected areas in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

More than 30 tonnes of emergency supplies have already been delivered to both countries, including cholera kits and rehydration salts, with more assistance on the way.

UN torture expert urges UK to halt extradition of Julian Assange to the US 

The UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert on torture urged the United Kingdom on Tuesday to halt the possible extradition of Julian Assange to the United States.

Alice Edwards called on British authorities to consider Mr. Assange’s appeal based on the substantial fears that, if extradited, he would be at risk of treatment amounting to torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment.

“Julian Assange suffers from a long standing and recurrent depressive disorder. He is assessed as being at risk of committing suicide,” the Special Rapporteur said in a statement.

He faces numerous charges in the US, including under the Espionage Act of 1917, for the alleged unlawful release of diplomatic and other cables and documents via the investigative site he co-founded, WikiLeaks.

Lifetimes in jail

“If extradited, he could be detained in prolonged isolation while awaiting trial or as an inmate. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison,” Ms. Edwards said.

The independent expert questioned whether his extradition is compatible with the UK’s international human rights obligations considering the risks to his mental health through solitary confinement or likelihood of “disproportionate” sentencing. 

“Diplomatic assurances of humane treatment provided by the Government of the United States are not a sufficient guarantee to protect Mr. Assange against such risk,” she added, calling on the UK to carefully review the extradition order.

A final domestic appeal after a long-running legal battle on Mr. Assange’s extradition is scheduled to take place before the High Court in London on 20 and 21 February.

Rapporteurs and other rights experts are independent of any government or organization, receive no salary and serve in their own capacity. 

Sudan: Food scarcity set to worsen as threat increases from desert locusts

UN humanitarians are warning that food will become even more scarce in the coming months as Sudan enters the lean season, the UN Spokesperson told journalists on Tuesday. 

“An estimated 18 million people are food insecure – that’s 10 million more than last year,” said Stéphane Dujarric.  

This comes as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cautioned earlier in Geneva that the damage caused by desert locusts in the country has worsened significantly since the middle of last year.

Existential threat to seed supplies

FAO Deputy Representative in Sudan Adam Yao warned that the pest problem had reached a “threatening level”, and without sustained efforts to control the invasion, significant agricultural losses are inevitable.

Locusts swarm in the Nugal region of Somalia.
© FAO/Haji Dirir

Locusts swarm in the Nugal region of Somalia.

This is due in part to the absence of surveillance and control operations in central and western Sudan resulting from the ongoing war between Government forces and the rival RSF militia, which has plunged the country into crisis. 

Nonetheless, locust control officers supported by the FAO have managed to survey more than 113,500 hectares and control around 23,000 hectares of land already infested.

Mr. Yao said FAO was working together with the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, to secure immediate access to Wad Madani to ensure seed collections under threat can be moved to a safer location.

Aid agencies have managed to deliver lifesaving assistance to seven million people in Sudan since last April.

Cancer rates set to rise 77 per cent by 2050

There are predicted to be more than 35 million cancer cases during 2050, up from the estimated 20 million in 2022, according to latest figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialized branch of the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

The increase reflects both population ageing and growth, as well as changes to people’s exposure to risk factors. Tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors, along with air pollution.

Varying patterns 

Richer countries are expected to have the greatest absolute increase in cancer, with an additional 4.8 million new cases predicted in 2050. 

However, low and middle-income countries should see a higher proportional increase in cancer, while mortality is projected to almost double.

The estimates from the IARC’s Global Cancer Observatory are based on the best sources of data available from 185 countries and covers 36 different forms of cancer. 

They were published alongside a WHO survey from 115 countries which showed that the majority do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services as part of universal health coverage. 

Common cancers globally 

Ten types of cancer collectively comprised around two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022, the IARC said. 

Lung cancer was the most commonly occurring form worldwide with 2.5 million new cases.  It accounted for more than 12 per cent of all new cases and 18.9 per cent of deaths, 1.8 million, making it the leading cause of cancer death. 

Female breast cancer ranked second in terms of occurrence, with 2.3 million cases, worldwide or 11.6 per cent, but accounted for 6.9 per cent of deaths. 

Other commonly occurring cancers were colorectal, prostate and stomach cancer. 

Colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer death, followed by liver, breast and stomach cancer. 

Cervical cancer was the eighth most commonly occurring cancer globally, the ninth leading cause of cancer death, and the most common cancer in women in 25 countries, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Inequalities and investment 

The IARC estimates – issued ahead of World Cancer Day on 4 February – also revealed striking inequalities, particularly in breast cancer.

One in 12 women in richer countries will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime and one in 71 will die of it, the agency said.  However, although only one in 27 women in poorer countries will receive a positive breast cancer diagnosis, one in 48 will die.

These women “are at a much higher risk of dying of the disease due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment,” said Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC. 

The WHO survey also revealed significant global inequities in cancer services. For example, higher income countries were up to seven times more likely to include lung cancer-related services in their health benefits packages. 

“WHO, including through its cancer initiatives, is working intensively with more than 75 governments to develop, finance and implement policies to promote cancer care for all,” said Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director of its Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, underlining the need for greater investment. 

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