REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by spokespersons and representatives of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Spokespersons for the World Food Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Refugee Agency were also present, but had no announcements to make.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that, in Geneva, the Conference on Disarmament was holding a plenary meeting today, the first under the Presidency of Belgium. As was known, the Conference had a rotating four-week Presidency which was taken in turns by members of the Conference according to English alphabetical order, and thus Belgium was succeeding Belarus.

Secretary-General’s Report on the Millennium Development Goals

Yesterday, journalists had been sent an embargoed press release on the Secretary-General’s report, “Keeping the Promise”, which Mr. Ban would present to the General Assembly today, Ms. Momal-Vanian said. The report – which would serve as a basis for Government deliberations on an action-oriented outcome document for the 20 to 22 September Summit on the Millennium Development Goals – identified success factors and lessons learned, highlighted gaps, emerging challenges and opportunities, and laid out specific recommendations for action to boost progress towards the Goals over the remaining five years. A series of reports would be published by the Secretary-General and the United Nations between now and the Summit: the Statistical Appendix to the Secretary-General’s report, in April; the latest official statistics on progress towards meeting the Goals, in late June; and a more in-depth assessment of gaps in international cooperation, by early September. The press release and other materials were embargoed until 5 p.m. Geneva time today.

Haiti

Ms. Momal-Vanian highlighted that the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Jacques Diouf, was in Haiti, where he had announced that FAO plans to reach 180,000 smallholder farming families with 1,500 tons of seeds and fertilizers between March and June. FAO also planned to plant 10 million fruit trees and had signed the Léogâne Declaration with the Government, committing that United Nations Agency to support the country’s agricultural production in the short and long term.

Pablo Medina of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in an update on the situation just over two months after the earthquake in Haiti, reported that the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement alone had already distributed some sort of emergency shelter assistance – whether tarpaulins, tents or shelter materials including wood and plastic sheeting – to 60,000 families or more than 300,000 people, ahead of the target date of 1 May. Over half the population in need of shelter assistance – 1.3 million – had now received some form of emergency shelter assistance. By 1 May, IFRC hoped to reach 93 per cent of those in need. Through its mobile health clinics and emergency health centres, IFRC had assisted over 60,000 patients, and more than 150,000 people had benefited from an immunization programme against measles, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. IFRC had also so far distributed over 40 million litres of water in over 120 sites; had built latrines to serve over 60,000 people; had facilitated the arrival of 102 flights and 60 sea shipments of assistance; and had delivered over 23 million SMS messages with health awareness information to the population.

The challenges ahead were enormous, Mr. Medina admitted. The impact of the earthquake was widespread. There were also issues around equity: 80 per cent of the population in Haiti were living below the poverty line before the earthquake, so some of those who were receiving earthquake aid were actually in a better situation than those who had not been affected. Land availability was also an issue of concern. Port-au-Prince was one of the most highly densely populated cities in the Americas and there were thousands of tons of rubble to clear to make more land available.

Asked about the timeliness of shelter provision, Mr. Medina said it depended on one’s point of view. At the current rate, over 110,000 people had received shelter assistance per week. He thought that was quite commendable. Of course, the onset of the rainy season would pose new challenges. They were working on setting up common hurricane shelters; he did not believe they would be able to provide individual hurricane resistant shelters before the hurricane season arrived, on 1 June, but construction of communal shelters did seem to be possible.

The relief period was expected to last 12 months, as opposed to a 3 to 6 month relief phase for most operations. Asked why the relief phase was expected to be so long, Mr. Medina said it had to do with the extensive damage and the scope of the operation, with an immense amount of people in need of assistance. It also had to do with the pre-existing conditions in Haiti, with 2 million people affected by food insecurity before the earthquake. In addition, it was linked to the Government and the humanitarian communities ability to respond to the disaster – with both the Government and many relief agencies in the country heavily impacted by the earthquake as well.

In response to a query on what measures were being taken to prevent inter- and intra-community conflict following the distribution of assistance, Mr. Medina said it was partly an issue of targeting: for areas where most people were affected (like Port-au-Prince) they had to calculate the value added of targeting assistance only to those affected and the additional costs in separating out the others. In many places where most of the population had been affected, it was more cost efficient to do general distributions of relief, while ensuring that they minimized the conflict that the provision of relief could create. Marie-Françoise Borel of IFRC added that vulnerability was the basic criterion used to distribute assistance. In many cases of disasters around the world, in particular for example with refugee populations, IFRC would also help the host communities to reduce inequities between populations.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that IOM had launched a Cash for Work programme to help provide desperately needed cash to some 8,000 Haitians each day contributing to the country’s rehabilitation. The projects, funded by USAID, were not just in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but also in Petit-Goave, Les Cayes, Port-de-Paix and other affected areas. The programme was focusing first on clearing the roads, but also, before the rainy season set in, on clearing the water drainage pipes, among others. A press note was available.

Chile

Mr. Medina noted that last night there had been another earthquake alert – with a 6.7 aftershock quake recorded near the city of Concepcion. Fortunately, no reports of personal injuries or casualties had been received. Just two weeks after the original earthquake in Chile, ICRC had deployed two basic healthcare units, and one hospital would be arriving soon. They had deployed over 60 staff and volunteers that were providing medical assistance, water and sanitation and relief supplies to the affected people. IFRC had launched an appeal of 13 million CHF, which was currently 55 per cent funded. The major concern remained the aftershocks, which also impacted on the psychosocial situation of the populace. Many preferred to live outside in makeshift camps or tents rather than to return to their homes. Shelter needs were therefore critical – there were 19,000 people in approximately 90 settlements, plus an additional 50,000 in makeshift settlements. The Chilean Red Cross had mobilized nearly 2,000 volunteers and trained 1,300 additional volunteers.

Health Issues

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced that the Gavi Alliance would be holding a press conference on Thursday, 18 March, at 12:30 p.m. at the GAVI Alliance Secretariat to discuss funding shortages and the potential impact of those shortages on immunization programmes to 2015. Also highlighted would be the follow-on effects of the funding challenges on the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4 (reduce child mortality). In addition, new evidence of the power of immunization would be presented.

Fadéla Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that next week they would celebrate the World Tuberculosis Day (24 March).

Glenn Thomas of Stop Tuberculosis said that on Tuesday, 23 March, they would be launching a new report on multi-drug resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, including new data from 117 countries on the monitoring and spread of the disease, as well as the response to and the threat of those diseases. The report would also have a special focus on certain countries, including Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Nepal, Romania and South Africa. It further looked at the African region; the links between the HIV and these resistant strains of tuberculosis; funding issues; and an initiative to scale up the number of laboratories that could test and diagnose these diseases. There would be a briefing at 2 p.m. in Room I with Ms. Chaib and one or two of the co-authors of the report. The report itself would be available on a password-protected site tomorrow, under embargo until 4 p.m. Geneva time on Tuesday, 23 March.

Ms. Chaib confirmed that the main launch of the report would be in Washington, D.C., with the Director of the WHO Tuberculosis Department. Mr. Thomas added that on 24 March, the Stop TB Partnership would announce in New York the name of a new Good-will Ambassador, an international pop star.

Other

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said available at the back of the room was the UNCTAD policy brief on the Global Monetary Chaos. In it, experts reviewed the global economic situation, finding that the recovery had been modest with regard to national economies but that the “casino economy” was already coming back. Institutional investors were again speculating on currencies. The policy brief made the case for a “constant real exchange rate rule”. The document also reviewed the findings of the Trade and Development Report 2009 in the light of recent developments. There was a risk of new speculative bubbles, which posed a real threat once again to the evolution of the global economic situation. Copies of the policy brief were available in English, and would be available later in the morning in French and Spanish as well.

Ms. Sibut-Pinote also announced that the Secretary-General of UNCTAD had been invited to give an address on global economic governance at the annual meeting of the Import-Export Bank of India. The text of his address would be posted on the UNCTAD website on Tuesday.

Gaëlle Sévenier of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted that next Tuesday, 23 March, was World Meteorological Day. The theme for 2010 was “60 Years of Service for Your Safety and Well-Being”, in celebration of WMO’s sixtieth anniversary. Starting at 3:30 p.m. a number of events would be held at WMO headquarters, inaugurated by WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. There would also be a number of guest speakers, and the opening of an exhibition of paintings inspired by satellite imagery. Programmes for the celebrations and a brochure highlighting WMO’s 60 years of achievement were available at the back of the room. All were invited to the celebration.

Ms. Sévenier also announced there was a press conference today on at 12 p.m. in Room III, to officially announce the holding of the first Conference of Ministers Responsible for Meteorology in Africa, which would take place from 12 to 16 April in Nairobi. WMO was organizing that conference in partnership with the African Union. The press conference, which would be given by Mr. Jarraud as well as the Permanent Observer of the African Union and the Permanent Representative of Kenya, would highlight issues such as the challenges climate change posed for Africa. Marie Heuzé would be the WMO focal point for the media with regard to the Conference and could arrange interviews.

Corinne Perthuis of the International Labour Organization (ILO) noted that the Administrative Council of ILO met three times a year – in March, June and November. In the context of the meeting this week there would be a discussion sector-by-sector of the economic impact of the global economic crisis on the labour market. Experts on various sectors – including textiles, health and public administration – would give a press briefing this Friday, at 11:30 a.m. in room III, following the regular UNIS briefing, to speak about the impact of the economic crisis on their sector and the prospects for 2010. Available was a four-page summary.

Mr. Chauzy announced the publication today of an IOM migration profile on Cameroon, which showed that current migration flows continued to be mostly internal from the countryside to the cities, but with increasing numbers of Cameroonians emigrating to neighbouring countries and Beyond. France remained the principal destination outside of Africa, and there were some 300,000 Cameroonians in the subregion, largely in an irregular situation. It also looked at the brain-drain effect of the emigration of trained Cameroonians.

Samar Shamoon of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said that on Thursday WIPO Secretary-General Francis Gurry would be briefing on two subjects, starting at 11 a.m. in Room III. The first would be on the international trademark system in 2009 and the second on the activities of the arbitration and mediation centre, in particular cybersquatting trends in 2009.

At the end of the briefing, Ms. Momal-Vanian announced with regret to his colleagues that the journalist Igor Sedykh of Kommersant had died this week.