REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the virtual briefing, during which journalists heard from spokespersons for the World Health Organisation, World Food Programme, United Nations Refugee Agency, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

COVID-19 pandemic

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organisation (WHO), responding to questions, said that while the central tenant of the WHO policy was “testing, testing, testing”, the implementation of this policy was up to the national authorities.

The United States of America and their people had always been WHO’s fantastic partners – not only in terms of funding, but in science, cooperation and ideas - and this would continue, regardless of circumstances.

The COVID-19 outbreak in Europe was a mixed picture, with some countries such as Italy and Spain slowing down, and others accelerating, such as Turkey. Globally, 90 per cent of cases came from Europe and the United States, and peak had not yet been reached. Dr. Harris noted the challenges in issuing epidemiological data, including the number of cases per country, the population size and the intensity of testing, which might – in some countries – explain greater caseloads.

In China, the biggest threat at the moment were imported cases, which represented 90 per cent of the infections identified the previous day. Asked whether Russia would see the explosion of cases like the United States, Ms. Harris stressed that no country was alike and that a lot was in the hands of the governments and the population.

Later today, WHO would issue a detailed six-step guidance on the lifting of confinement measures and the stay-at-home orders. Ms. Harris added that antibodies testing confirmed whether someone had been infected, but it did not guarantee immunity and a protection from the second infection. At this stage, none of the antibodies tests had been prequalified.

A journalist noted that many deaths in Mexico were due to atypical pneumonia and asked about testing. Responding, Dr. Harris reiterated that testing was the gold standard that enabled to find those who carried the virus. Quarantining whole communities, which was a blunt measure, simply bought time for the health systems. It was essential to find and isolate those infected so that the communities could resume their lives and activities.

Explaining the vaccine development process, which required human safety trials, Dr. Harris underlined that no one could give a specific date now and that a vaccine was probably not realistic for at least 12 months.

Asked about the criticism directed at WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 response, Dr. Harris said that the WHO had issued a clear timeline of its work, which was available on the website. Organizations would always be criticized and it was important to listen to constructive criticism and learn from it. WHO would do this once the pandemic was over.

Also answering a question, Dr. Harris said that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had not reported any cases of COVID-19 to WHO.

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS), added that as of 12 April, there had been 189 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the United Nations staff, including 3 deaths. As of the previous week, there had been 10 confirmed cases among the staff of the United Nations secretariat in Geneva; new figures were expected to be available soon.

Humanitarian aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Asked about refugee and migrant arrivals via the Mediterranean route, Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said it had been reported that one boat had landed the previous day in Italy with 101 persons on board. The people had been taken into quarantine and UNHCR staff on the ground was working with partners to identify the arrived persons. Another boat with 77 people had been reported to have arrived in Malta the previous night, and there were indications about another two boats arriving. UNHCR was working to confirm the information.

As for the returns to Venezuela, Mr. Baloch said that UNHCR had registered some people returning and stressed that the agency itself was not promoting the voluntary return since the conditions were not yet in place. The Government had requested the United Nations system to assist the returnees in the context of the humanitarian response plan. UNHCR was providing humanitarian support, including to returnees, however access to all parts of the country was difficult. Many Venezuelans were returning by foot and crossing at informal border crossings, which raised protection concerns.

Answering a journalist who noted that some humanitarian workers had imported COVID-19 cases in Africa, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS), highlighted the need to ensure the continuity in humanitarian operations and stressed that all precautions were being taken to ensure they were conducted as safely as possible.

First United Nations “Solidarity Flights” to bring COVID-19 medical supplies to 54 African nations

Elisabeth Byrs, for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), announced that the first United Nations “solidarity flights” would depart Addis Ababa later this day and would carry COVID-19 medical supplies to 54 African nations. The cargo included one million face masks, face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, medical aprons and thermometers, as well as ventilators - enough to protect health workers while treating more than 30,000 patients across the continent. This was by far the largest single shipment of supplies since the start of the pandemic; it would ensure that people living in countries with some of the weakest health systems were able to get tested and treated, while ensuring that health workers on the frontlines were properly protected.

WFP was setting up the Addis Ababa Humanitarian Air Hub this week to help transport protective equipment, medical supplies and humanitarian workers across Africa for the COVID-19 response, as well as ensuring Medevac for humanitarian responders. WFP was ready to set up the logistics backbone for global COVID-19 efforts and it urgently needed $350 million to do so; however, as of 14 April, only 24 per cent, or $84 million, had been received for those vital services. More here.

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organisation (WHO), underlined the importance of WFP air bridges and stressed that collaboration, including between United Nations agencies, was essential to beat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answering questions, Ms. Byrs said that WFP worked with private actors, for example the Jack Ma Foundation, and with regional institutions, such as African regional centres for disease control. Once again, she underlined the importance of receiving the funding to enable WFP to fully support the solidarity flights, which were to bring COVID-19 medical supplies to countries in Africa. The cargo that had landed in Addis Ababa would be loaded to five planes and taken to regional hubs, including in Djibouti, Tanzania and Sudan, whence it would be transported to specific countries.

UNHCR urges greater support to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), highlighted that the coronavirus posed a very great threat to developing nations and that an outbreak - which would put extraordinary strain on already fragile local health-care services – would likely result in avoidable suffering and death. As the race against time continued globally, UNHCR appealed to the international community to boost solidarity with all three countries at this critical time to prevent a larger-scale outbreak of the coronavirus among the most vulnerable communities. More support was desperately needed for Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan as part of collective efforts to combat COVID-19 worldwide. Despite the work being done across the sub-region, the risk of the pandemic becoming unmanageable was now acute. UNHCR’s funding appeal of some US$315 million required for the Afghan situation was merely 17 per cent funded. Full briefing note here.

In response to questions, Mr. Baloch said that no figures about the number of refugees and people living in camps infected with the coronavirus were available at the moment, as the situation was very fluid. He stressed the need for preparedness and prevention measures, especially in countries with weak health infrastructures. There were about 1.4 million Afghani refugees in Pakistan and one million in Iran. To date, more than 60,000 Afghanis had returned to the country from Iran in March. Voluntary repatriation of Afghani refugees from Iran and Pakistan had been suspended from March, thus the returnees were the Afghani citizens who had decided to return on their own. Mr. Baloch also added that in addition to 2.4 million Afghani refugees, there were hundreds of thousands internally displaced persons inside Afghanistan.

Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that three new Ebola cases had been identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of whom had died. The Emergency Committee on Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had taken place on Friday and was meeting again today. The journalists would be notified of its outcome.

CERF releases funds for emergency relief to Vanuatu devastated by Tropical Cyclone Harold

Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the previous day, the Central Emergency Response Fund had released $2.5 million to get lifesaving aid to Vanuatu, devastated by Tropical Cyclone Harold earlier this month. As many as 90 per cent of the people in Sanma, the most affected province of Vanuatu, had lost their homes, and more than half of all schools and almost a quarter of health centres had been damaged. The emergency funds would enable United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations to get safe drinking water, food, shelter and healthcare to people in need and support local and international logistics to enable the distribution of supplies. Mr. Laerke also highlighted the challenges to the response caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which made the movement of people and supplies more difficult. More.

UN/CEFACT digital standards can help governments reduce the risk of disease transmission from animals and facilitate legal trade

Jean Rodriguez, for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said that ensuring proper controls on the international trade in animals and animal products and enabling the adequate enforcement of strict sanitary standards were important steps to limiting the risks of transmission from animals to humans. However, most existing controls on the international trade of animals, plants and other agricultural products worldwide were still done through the issuance and exchange of licenses, permits and certificates in paper format. This was not only slow but also more vulnerable to fraud, forgery and corruption, thus hindering efficient implementation of health and safety controls by governments. Alternative solutions are being tested and rolled out successfully and governments were increasingly turning towards high-tech protection mechanisms, including the standards developed at UNECE’s United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), which facilitated legal, sustainable and safe trade. The ultimate goal was to contribute to conserving wild species, ensure the legality and sustainability of their commercial trade, and contribute to efforts to protect citizens around the world from future pandemics. Read more.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS), said that on 24 April, the International Day of Multilateralism, and in the context of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, United Nations Geneva would hold a virtual exchange on multilateralism in the times of COVID-19.

The participants would include Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, Special Adviser on Preparations for Seventy-Fifth United Nations Anniversary, Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization.