REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

It was the first regular press briefing of UNIS Geneva fully conducted via the Zoom technology, with all speakers and journalists joining remotely.

The topics addressed were: COVID-19; the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire; the World Food Programme’s response to COVID-19; and the newly launched observatory on border crossing status due to COVID-19.

COVID-19: UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) referred to the previous day’s appeal by the Secretary-General, who called on all warring parties to put a stop to fighting so that all resources could be dedicated to combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Answering a question, Ms. Vellucci said that it was indeed an exceptional appeal as the situation was quite exceptional. The Secretary-General was talking to global leaders, including G20 leaders, on having a concerted, coordinated, well-financed response to the global threat.

COVID-19 Update

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed that the outbreak was rapidly accelerating, and there were considerably more registered cases than 335,000, and far more than 14,500 deaths. The WHO dashboard had been last updated the previous evening, but there had been a significant growth overnight, and new figures would be shown soon. As a comparison, it had taken two years for the worst Ebola outbreak to reach 11,000 deaths, reminded Ms. Harris. She added that 85 percent of the cases reported in the last 24 hours had come from Europe and the United States, which were now the epicenters of the pandemics. Lots of countries were taking strict measures to fight the virus, whose curve was supposed to slow down, and to give health services a chance to somehow catch up. There were some early positive signs in several European countries, which nonetheless had to be viewed with caution. Testing, isolating, tracing, and quarantining were all crucial, much needed steps that authorities around the world ought to be undertaking.

Dr. Harris informed that the previous day the WHO and the International Football Association (FIFA) had announced a joint campaign “Five Steps to Kick Out Coronavirus.” The campaign focused on: hand washing; coughing etiquette; not touching one’s face; physical distance; and staying home if one feels unwell.

There was much concern about the spread of the virus in vulnerable, less developed countries, for example a number of countries on the African continent, stressed Dr. Harris.

Responding to a series of questions, Dr. Harris said that many countries had reached out to the WHO asking for prefabricated tests. So far, the WHO had provided some 1.5 million tests, and had been working with the least prepared countries ever since January, helping them get ready for the pandemics.

Dr. Harris further said that there was a glimmer of hope in Italy, as there were fewer cases than in the previous several days, but it was still far too early to claim that the tide had turned. The situation needed to be carefully observed in the coming days. The United States certainly had a very significant outbreak, and a large number of new cases reported overnight globally came from the US, confirmed Dr. Harris. On a positive side, testing there had been ramped up, and more efforts were being made to contain the spread of the virus. Dr. Harris stressed that there was no “one-size-fits-all” approach which would be applicable to all countries around the world. Not each measure worked in each society; in China, for example, a complete lockdown and stopping all activities had brought positive results.

Health workers were the most fundamental people necessary to defeat the pandemics, emphasized Dr. Harris. There had been an 18-million health worker shortfall before the COVID-19 outbreak. Health workers needed to be well protected, trained properly, provided with adequate equipment and working conditions. Dr. Harris emphasized the importance of having properly trained professionals who knew how to do triage, testing, reporting test results, and isolation of patients. All those elements were needed to break the chain of transmission. It was not only important to have protective equipment in place, but also to have sufficient health workers to back up and replace those on the front lines of the fight against the virus.

Dr. Harris said that the incubation period of the virus was between three and twelve days. That was why a 14-day quarantine was considered to be a sufficient time for possible symptoms to appear. The virus tended to inhabit the nasal cavities, the nose and the mouth for quite a while, without showing obvious symptoms. That was why testing and isolation were of crucial importance, so that infected persons who were not even aware of it would not infect several other individuals.

Dr. Harris stated that an increase in testing would certainly lead to an increase in registered cases, but there was also an objective growth of cases in both Europe and the United States. Testing was definitely the best way to identify all cases, isolate them, trace their contacts, and eventually stop the virus.


World Food Programme’s response to COVID-19

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), stressed that as the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, the WFP was looking to pre-position buffer stocks of food or cash to provide at least three months of food assistance to vulnerable people in priority countries.

WFP appealed to government partners to confirm an estimated USD 1.9 billion of contributions to the WFP food assistance programmes so that forward procurement and pre-positioning of stocks could be accelerated in fragile places. In that regard, the WFP was asking government partners to allow maximum flexibility in the way that resources were used so that food assistance programmes could respond dynamically to the rapidly changing outlook.

Ms. Byrs explained that in China, the WFP had provided support to the Chinese Government’s efforts to curb the spread of the virus by delivering lifesaving equipment to hospitals in Hubei province. The WFP had deployed a team of supply chain experts to the WHO Headquarters in Geneva to provide planning and logistics support to emergency teams, while in Iran, the WFP was providing a two-month supply of personal protection equipment - masks, gloves and coverall gowns - for more than 2,000 staff and volunteers from the Iranian Red Crescent Society. In Bangladesh, for example, the WFP had put in place a double-ration system for refugees in Cox’s Bazaar, whereby monthly rations were given every two months instead, reducing excess movement of people and supporting social distancing efforts.

To access the WFP’s page on the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Responding to a question, Ms. Byrs said that the WFP used its logistics network and expertise to support other UN agencies dealing with the pandemic, including the World Health Organization. She stressed the importance of never breaking the supply chain. Ms. Byrs said that electronic vouchers and cards allowed recipients to use the resources at a moment of their choice.

Observatory on border crossing status due to COVID-19

Jean Rodriguez, for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said that
international movement and connectivity were facing unprecedented challenges as an increasing number of countries around the world were closing their borders and imposing travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The patchwork of uncoordinated measures taken complicated compliance by transport operators, causing huge delays at borders in many countries and making it increasingly difficult to keep road transport supply chains open.

To facilitate the work of transport operators and preserve connectivity by keeping supply chains working as smoothly as possible, UNECE was launching an “Observatory on Border Crossings Status due to COVID-19”, which gathered all updated information regarding border crossing limitations worldwide. The online observatory would provide available information on the situation, updated directly by countries - national customs’ focal point and national members of the International Road Transport Union, the transport sector, and the European Commission.

UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova had stated: “UNECE hosts all the United Nations international conventions governing inland transport, which are key to ensure and maintain efficient border crossing and transit procedures. I urge all countries to facilitate the flow of goods, in particular essential products, to the maximum extent possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make full use of existing international cooperation mechanisms to adopt, wherever possible, coordinated measures.”

More information on the Observatory on Border Crossing Status due to COVID-19.

In response to a question, Mr. Rodriguez said that the UNECE was calling on all countries to limit, to the amount possible and with necessary precautions in place, disruption of supply chains. The economic impact of the pandemics was already severe on many industries.

UNCTAD’s announcements

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), informed about a publication today of web news on enterprise registration in Benin, which was part of UNCTAD’s Trade Facilitation Programme. Benin this month had taken its business registration processes 100 percent digital, setting up an efficient, new online single window that houses all regulatory processes needed to open a business in record time. This critical move, ahead of the spike in global infections from COVID-19, meant that businesspeople in Benin or abroad could now start a business in two hours and from the comfort and safety of their office or home. With this new single window, Benin got a top score on ger.co, an index of countries’ business registrations systems.
Ms. Huissoud also informed about a transport newsletter on implementation of the new rules concerning CO2 emissions entitled “Decarbonizing Shipping: What Role for Flag States?”. The International Maritime Organization’s Member States had agreed in 2018 to reduce the total annual greenhouse gases emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008. The International Chamber of Shipping and other maritime industry associations proposed the establishment of a research and development fund to help cut emissions. UNCTAD supported the Getting to Zero Coalition and promoted efforts to achieve sustainability, helping developing countries adapt and build resilience in the light of the climate emergency (find here more information).

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog240320