REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Michele Zaccheo, Chief of the Radio and Television Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Yemen — the impact of the conflict on education

Meritxell Relano, Representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen, speaking via telephone from Sana’a, said that education in Yemen was experiencing a silent crisis that would impact on both the present and the future of the country’s children. Three years into the conflict, 2 million children were unable to attend primary school. Many children stayed at home or were sent out to work, and large numbers of girls had been married under the age of 15 years. There had also been 2,419 verified cases of child recruitment.

For children who were able to attend school, the situation was also difficult. At one school 60 kilometres from Sana’a, children were being taught in classes of more than 60, in dirty buildings with no seating. Many teachers had not received a salary for more than 18 months and had left their posts as a result, meaning that so far in 2018, some children had been able to attend just 20 days of school. Some teachers taught in the mornings and then in the afternoons worked collecting empty water bottles, transporting rocks or helping on farms. Others had no transport and had to walk 3-5 kilometres to school. Children at the school looked weak and pale and appeared malnourished, with many reporting that they regularly went to school on an empty stomach. UNICEF appealed for a peaceful solution to the conflict so that schools could reopen and teachers could receive their full salaries. The Agency was looking for generous contributions at the upcoming donor conference to help in paying incentives to the 173,000 teachers who were not currently receiving a salary.

In response to questions from journalists, Ms. Relano said that the majority of schools were not currently receiving support from the Government, particularly in the north of the country. Since 2016, UNICEF had renovated more than 1,000 schools, providing water and sanitation, educational supplies for students and training for teachers. There were generally more boys than girls in school, in part because approximately 70 per cent of teachers were men, meaning that some families felt uncomfortable sending their daughters to school.

Asked to provide data on early marriage, Ms. Relano said that a study conducted in 2016 in six governorates had found that half of the children there had been married at an early age, with three-quarters of those married below the age of 18 years and 44 per cent married below the age of 15 years. It was difficult to conduct a more up-to-date nationwide assessment due to the security situation.

High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that on 3 April, a High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen would be held in Room XVIII at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The event would run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at which point it was hoped that the final results would be announced. The event would be attended by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, the Vice-President of Switzerland and Minister of the Federal Department of Finance, Ueli Maurer, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate, Isabella Lövin. A media stakeout would be held at 1 p.m. with Mr. Guterres, Ms. Lövin and a representative of the Swiss Government. The Pledging Event would be livestreamed on UN Web TV.

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Laerke said that the international appeal for almost USD 3 billion was currently 10 per cent funded. As was usual practice, no funding target had been set for the Pledging Event.

WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that on 26 March, WHO had held a pledging conference for its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE). The Fund had been established in 2016 as a result of the lessons learned from the Ebola crisis in West Africa. WHO needed flexible funds that could be disbursed rapidly to fill the gaps until other financing streams became available. At the conference, donors had pledged an additional USD 15.3 million to support quick action by WHO to tackle disease outbreaks and humanitarian health crises in 2018. Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland had announced contributions ranging from USD 20,000 to USD 5.6 million. The Fund had demonstrated that a small investment could save lives and dramatically reduce the direct costs of controlling outbreaks and responding to emergencies. Without the Fund, the recent outbreaks of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marburg Virus Disease in Uganda and pneumonic plague in Madagascar could have spiralled out of control. The Fund had proven its value as a global public good that should be underwritten by long-term investment. In 2017, the Fund had provided nearly USD 21 million for operations in 23 countries, with most allocations released within 24 hours. More than half (56 per cent) of allocations had funded responses in the WHO Africa region, with 28 per cent going to responses in countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and 11 per cent to the South East Asia Region.

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Jašareviæ said that WHO was seeking to secure further donor commitments to achieve its funding targets of USD 50 million for 2018 and USD 100 million for the 2018-2019 biennium. The CFE was an important tool that enabled WHO to act quickly to prevent crises. By way of example, in May 2017 the Democratic Republic of the Congo had experienced a cluster of unexplained deaths in a remote part of the country. WHO had deployed a team within 24 hours thanks to CFE funding, and by July, the Ebola outbreak was over, with only four associated deaths. The rapid release of USD 2 million had likely saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars. In contrast, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 had resulted in more than 11,000 deaths and had cost more than USD 3.6 billion to contain.

Cholera in Yemen

Asked about a potential recurrence of the cholera epidemic in Yemen during the upcoming rainy season, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that while the number of suspected cases of cholera had been decreasing since July 2017 and more than 99 per cent of people diagnosed with the disease had recovered, the outbreak was not over and it was important to maintain the response. It was likely that many suspected cases had in fact been caused by other pathogens. It was vital to continue to confirm cases via laboratory testing and to keep in place the systems that had been set up to treat people who became unwell. As of 18 March, there had been 1,081,000 suspected cases, more than 1,100 of which had been confirmed by laboratory testing, and 2,267 associated deaths. While a decision had been made at the peak of the outbreak to focus on containment, the possibility of an oral vaccination campaign was now being discussed with the national health authorities.

Health situation in Syria

Asked about medical evacuations from Eastern Ghouta, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that at least 620 people who had left the area over the past week had been referred for advanced treatment in Damascus. It was unclear whether those were the same people who had previously been placed on a list of patients requiring urgent medical evacuation. WHO appealed for access to Eastern Ghouta in order to be able to assess the situation there. On the last occasion that WHO staff had been able to enter the area as part of a convoy, two weeks earlier, there had been reports of a dramatic lack of medical supplies and of doctors using expired medicines. It was unlikely that the situation had improved since then. There were 17 mobile teams — including 12 being supported by WHO — providing medical and nutrition support to people in the shelters, which were overcrowded and lacked proper water and sanitation facilities.

World Health Day

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that World Health Day was observed on 7 April each year. In 2018, the day would mark the beginning of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the World Health Organization. The theme of World Health Day 2018 was universal health coverage for everyone, everywhere. WHO was calling on world leaders to live up to the pledges they had made when they agreed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and to commit to concrete steps to advance universal health coverage and ensure that everyone, everywhere, could access essential quality health services without facing financial hardship by 2030, as envisaged in SDG 3.8.

Worldwide, too many people were currently missing out on health coverage and financial protection. At least half the world’s people did not receive the essential health services they needed. Approximately 100 million people were being pushed into extreme poverty, forced to survive on less than USD 1.90 a day because they had to pay for health services. More than 800 million people — almost 12 percent of the world’s population — spent at least 10 percent of their household budget on health expenses for themselves, a sick child or other family member, incurring what was known as “catastrophic expenditure”. In 2015, the world had spent USD 7.3 trillion on health, representing close to 10 per cent of global gross domestic product. Between 2000 and 2015, the annual growth rate in health expenditure had been 4 per cent, while the economic growth rate had been 2.8 per cent. Domestic public financing was the predominant source for achieving universal health coverage. Government domestic funding as a share of current health expenditure had risen from 66 per cent to 70 per cent in high-income countries and from 48 per cent to 51 per cent in middle-income countries. However, in low-income countries, the share had declined from 30 per cent to 22 per cent. Countries were approaching universal health coverage in different ways, since there was no one-size-fits-all solution.

Lassa fever in Nigeria

Asked to provide an update on the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that while the number of cases was falling, it was important to remain vigilant and to continue to identify cases and monitor the contacts of those who fell ill. To date, there had been approximately 400 confirmed cases and 100 related deaths. While the epidemic was slowing, WHO was continuing to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to attempt to control the spread of the disease.

E-commerce week

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the fifth E-commerce week would take place from 16 to 20 April. The event was particularly important given the recent reports about Facebook and privacy issues. While the event would focus on developing countries, they were not the only ones that were unprepared to deal with digitalization of the economy.

During the event, more than 1,000 participants would take part in 60 meetings on a variety of issues including competition, job creation, the distribution of economic benefits and blockchain technologies. Ministers from Pakistan, Liberia, Cambodia and Uganda would be attending the event, together with representatives from the African Union and the European Commission.

Geneva events and announcements

Michele Zaccheo, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that on the morning of 27 March, the Conference on Disarmament would hold a public plenary meeting during which it would take action on the draft decision on the appointment of coordinators for the subsidiary bodies (established under decision CD/2119 adopted on 16 February) submitted by the President of the Conference, Ambassador Sabrina Dallafior of Switzerland. Unless another meeting was scheduled before the end of the week, which marked the end of the first part of the 2018 session, the Conference would take up its work on 15 May for the second part of its annual session (14 May to 29 June).

Mr. Zaccheo also said that the Human Rights Committee was meeting in private on 27 March. On the morning of 28 March, the Committee would hold a public meeting to review its draft general comment on the right to life. On 6 April, at the end of its 122nd session, the Committee would issue its concluding observations on the reports of the six countries reviewed during the session: Guatemala, El Salvador, Norway, Lebanon, Hungary and Liberia.

Mr. Zaccheo added that on the morning of 27 March, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was holding a public meeting with States in Room VII of the Palais des Nations. At the end of its 63rd session, at the Palais Wilson, the Committee would issue its concluding observations on the reports of the six countries reviewed during the session: Mexico, the Niger, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Spain and New Zealand.

Press conferences

International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism
Tuesday, 27 March at 2 p.m. in Room III
https://bit.ly/2pK96UB

Briefing on the Report of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011


World Trade Organization
Tuesday, 27 March at 3.30 p.m. in Press Room I
Dispute Settlement Body
https://bit.ly/2up4PLO


UNCTAD
Wednesday, 28 March at 11 a.m. in Press Room I
Presentation of the E-commerce week - Geneva 16-20 April 2018

Under the theme “Development Dimensions of Digital Platforms”, the 4th edition of the E-Commerce Week 2018 will explore the growing role of digital platforms and concrete steps to harnessing these evolving technologies for sustainable development.
https://bit.ly/2GgjABY


Inter-Parliamentary Union
Wednesday, 28 March at 1.15 p.m. in Press Room I
138th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, 24-28 March
https://bit.ly/2DYxqqC