WHO & Regionals [to 19 December 2015]

Health and human rights
Fact sheet N°323
December 2015
Key facts
:: The WHO Constitution enshrines “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.”
:: The right to health includes access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality.
:: Yet, about 100 million people globally are pushed below the poverty line as a result of health care expenditure ever year.
:: Vulnerable and marginalized groups in societies tend to bear an undue proportion of health problems.
:: Universal health coverage is a means to promote the right to health.

.

Launch of WHO mobile phone application for nutrition
December 2015 — Access the latest WHO nutrition guidelines, recommendations and related information for nutrition interventions, wherever you are, with the eLENA (e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions) mobile phone application.

.

Global Alert and Response (GAR) – Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
:: 17 December 2015 Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – China
:: 15 December 2015 Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus – Lao People’s Democratic Republic
:: 15 December 2015 Microcephaly – Brazil
:: 15 December 2015 Cholera – Democratic Republic of the Congo

.
:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: The African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) closes and a new body set up to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases
KAMPALA, 17 December 2015:- The African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) founded in 1995 has been formally closed and a new entity – the Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), with an expanded mandate, proposed to replace it. ESPEN was formally introduced to delegates at the 21st session of the Joint Action Forum (JAF) of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) that has concluded in Kampala, Uganda.

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
No new digest content identified.

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Make focused, accelerated efforts to prevent, reduce newborn deaths: WHO
SEAR/PR/1617
New Delhi, 14 December 2015: Nearly 7400 new-borns die every day in the WHO South-East Asia Region causing untold misery to mothers and families. Two-thirds of these deaths can be prevented by adopting proven and cost-effective measures, World Health Organization today said seeking focused efforts by governments and partners to prevent newborn deaths with a sense of urgency.
“Scaling up interventions with good quality care around the time of childbirth and during the first days after birth can substantially prevent complications and infections in new-borns, which are the main causes of newborn deaths,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia Region, said here as health partners signed a pledge to reduce newborn deaths.
Led by WHO; UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, UNAIDS and UNWOMEN pledged to jointly support the countries in the Region to prioritize accelerated reduction in newborn deaths by ensuring equitable access to essential life-saving interventions for mothers and babies across the Region…

WHO European Region EURO
:: Will there be sufficient health professionals to meet future needs? 18-12-2015
:: European health report available in French, German and Russian 16-12-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: WHO: Urgent support needed to provide health services for 15 million people in Yemen
Geneva, 15 December 2015 – WHO and health partners are appealing for US$ 31 million to ensure the continuity of health services for nearly 15 million people in Yemen affected by the ongoing conflict. Funding is urgently needed as the Yemeni health system has collapsed, leaving millions of vulnerable people without the care and medications they urgently need. Conflict is making the delivery of health services and supplies extremely challenging, health facilities and ambulances have been damaged, and there is a shortage of health workers, limiting access to health care.

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: Universal Health Coverage – a Foundation for the Sustainable Development Goals
MANILA, 12 December 2015 – Held every year since 2012 on 12 December, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day gathers partners globally to reaffirm the urgency for greater action and progress towards UHC. WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific calls for countries to ensure good quality health services are accessible to all as it celebrates UHC Day. Dr. Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific said, “Every country – no matter how rich or poor – can do something now to improve access to good quality services, to improve financial protection and to improve efficiency.”

UNAIDS [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/

.
UNAIDS strongly backs the Global Fund’s call for increased resources to help end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
18 December 2015

UNDP United Nations Development Programme [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter.html
Selected Press Releases

.
Helen Clark: Speech at briefing session ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system in the context of 2030 Agenda (phase 2)
Dec 17, 2015 United Nations, New York

.
Helen Clark: Speech at the launch of the 2015 Human Development Report
Dec 14, 2015UNECA Conference Center – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

UN Statistical Commission :: UN Statistics Division [to 19 December 2015]
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/commission.htm
http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/

.
Results from open consultation on ‘grey’ indicators are now available
A document containing the inputs provided by the Observers of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) and other stakeholders during the open consultation on proposed global SDG Indicators coded as “grey” has been posted online.

Results from the open consultation on ‘green’ indicators are now available
A document containing the inputs provided by the Observers of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) and other stakeholders during the open consultation on proposed global SDG Indicators coded as “green” has been posted online.

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/?doctypeID=1
Selected Press Releases

.
New GRASP Partners Increase Asian, African Impact
Two organizations join the Great Apes Survival Partnership
16/12/2015

“Address Challenges and Seize Opportunities of the New World of Work”, UNDP Urges
2 billion people lifted out of low human development, in last 25 years, now focus on work is needed to galvanize progress, alerts the 2015 Human Development Report.
15/12/2015

UNISDR UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.unisdr.org/archive
Selected Press Releases

.
Uganda moves on Sendai Framework
Without addressing the growing levels of disaster and climate risk, the Government of Uganda fears that 43% of the population could regress into poverty
16 Dec 2015

Typhoon early action shows worth
More than 700,000 people in the central Philippines have been evacuated to safety ahead of a powerful typhoon in the latest example of the country’s ‘early warning early action’ approach to protect lives, livelihoods and assets.
15 Dec 2015

UN DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news.html
Selected Press Releases

.
A new revamped website on social policy and development issues
16 December 2015, New York
The UNDESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) has launched its new and improved website at: http://social.un.org or http://undesadspd.org

UNESCO [to 19 December 2015]
http://en.unesco.org/news
Selected Press Releases

.
The role of universities in supporting UNESCO designated sites, beacons of sustainability
18 December 2015

1954 Convention: New members elected to protect cultural property
18 December 2015

United Nations General Assembly WSIS+10 High-Level Meeting adopts a milestone outcome document
18 December 2015

UNESCO calls for change in the way we look at migrants
17 December 2015

UN General Assembly adopts a new resolution on culture and sustainable development
17 December 2015

First Global Report – Evaluating the Impact of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
16 December 2015

UNESCO Director-General and President Vladimir Putin discuss protection of cultural heritage in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria
15 December 2015

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/allpress.html?ref=fp

.
18/12/2015 – Statement on International Migrants Day

17/12/2015 – Remarks of UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, at the United Nations Security Council thematic debate on “Trafficking in Persons in Situations of Conflict: ISIL and Beyond”

15/12/2015 – Opium production in Myanmar and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic stabilizes at high levels, says UNODC report

UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme [to 19 December 2015]
http://unhabitat.org/media-centre/news/
[Selected Announcements]

.
Launch of the Cities Alliance Joint Work Program on Resilient Cities
15 Dec 2015, Paris – William Cobbett, Director of Cities Alliance launched the initiative during the United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP21, explaining that the New Cities Alliance Joint Work Program on Resilient Cities brings together expertise…

FAO Food & Agriculture Organization [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.fao.org/news/archive/news-by-date/2015/en/
[Selected Announcements]

.
Resurgence in global wood production
In 2014, growth in wood products, including industrial roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels and pulp and paper, ranged from 1 to 5 percent, surpassing the pre-recession levels of 2007, according to new data published by FAO today. The fastest growth was registered in Asia-Pacific and Latin America and Caribbean.
18-12-2015

.
Sustainable farming systems in Bangladesh and Japan receive global recognition
Four new sites have been designated today by FAO as “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems” for innovation, sustainability and adaptability.
15-12-2015

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/index.htm

.
18 December 2015
UN agency to promote profitable rural smallholder enterprises in Paraguay

18 December 2015
UN agency to help Bolivian government raise economic prosperity in rural areas

18 December 2015
UN agency invests in linking smallholder farmers to commercial markets in Bhutan

ILO International Labour Organization [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.ilo.org/global/lang–en/index.htm

.
International Migrants Day
New ILO figures show 150 million migrants in the global workforce
A new ILO statistical study provides estimates on labour migration, including regions and industries where international migrant workers are established and a special focus on migrants in domestic work.
News | 16 December 2015
GENEVA (ILO News) – Migrant workers account for 150.3 million of the world’s approximately 232 million international migrants, according to a new study by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report, ILO Global Estimates on Migrant Workers , shows migrant workers account for 72.7 per cent of the 206.6 million working age migrant population (15 years and over). The majority – 83.7 million – are men, with 66.6 million women migrant workers.

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/pressrelease.aspx

.
ICAO Welcomes COP21 Agreement, Will Continue to Provide Leadership and Coordinate Action on International Aviation’s Environmental Goals
15/12/15

IMO International Maritime Organization [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/Home.aspx

.
Full speed ahead with climate-change measures at IMO following Paris Agreement
14/12/2015
IMO welcomes historic achievement of the 2015 Paris Climate Change conference.

WMO World Meteorological Organization [to 19 December 2015]
.
WMO applauds Paris Agreement
15 December 2015
The World Meteorological Organization strongly commends the world’s Governments for adopting the Paris Agreement last Saturday – and salutes the scientists whose work convinced the international community of the need for urgent action on climate change.

“The Paris Agreement is a diplomatic triumph that reconfirms the invaluable role played by the United Nations in promoting global cooperation and action on humanity’s most pressing challenges,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “This Agreement will serve as an essential tool for guiding and motivating action by local and national Governments, businesses, and civil society. The hard work of translating the written text into real actions begins now.”

.
Historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change
14 December 2015
An historic agreement to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future was agreed by 195 nations in Paris today.

The Paris Agreement for the first time brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities.
The universal agreement’s main aim is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

ITU International Telecommunications Union [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/index.aspx?lang=en#.VF8FYcl4WF8

.
ITU members agree international standard for Big Data
Building on cloud computing to provide Big Data services
Geneva, 18 December 2015 – ITU members have approved the first ITU standard on Big Data. The international standard details the requirements, capabilities and use cases of cloud-based Big Data as well a high-level ‘system context’ view and its relationships with other entities. The Big Data paradigm provides an effective, scalable solution to deal with growing volumes of data and uncover patterns or other information capable of making data manageable and profitable.

Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) are enabling masses of data to be generated, transmitted and stored, and this explosive growth is increasing in pace. Datasets have become so large and complex, and are generated so fast, that traditional approaches to data processing are proving inadequate. Achieving efficient analysis of data within required timeframes is a significant challenge, one that industry will address using technologies in the field of Big Data.

The new standard, Recommendation ITU-T Y.3600 “Big data – cloud computing based requirements and capabilities”, was developed by ITU-T’s expert group responsible for future networks, cloud computing and network aspects of mobile communications, ITU-T Study Group 13.

.
Expert group identifies emerging demands of ‘5G’ to fuel ITU standardization
Open-source communities to join ITU study of networking innovations
Geneva, 17 December – The ITU-T Focus Group on network aspects of IMT-2020 (‘5G’) has received an extension to its lifetime, with a mandate to undertake in-depth studies into areas such as ‘network softwarization’ and slicing, emerging networking technologies, mobile backhaul and fronthaul, and end-to-end quality of service (QoS). New Terms of Reference call for the group to engage open-source communities, influencing and taking advantage of their work by introducing them to the challenges that telecoms players must overcome in the development of the 5G ecosystem.

The Focus Group’s vision of the 5G era is of a highly dynamic information and communication technology (ICT) industry characterized by the entrance of new players to the networking business and new opportunities for telecoms companies. The approach to year 2020 will play host to the emergence of new business models capitalizing on the transformative effects of softwarization and the associated convergence of open-source and telecoms communities…

.
Partners launch action plan to close digital gender gap
Women’s participation in digital society integral to achieving Agenda 2030
New York, 15 December 2015 – An ‘Action Plan to Close the Digital Gender Gap’ was launched today at a side event on “Women’s Empowerment in the Digital Age” during the High-Level Meeting of the World Summit of the Information Society currently taking place in New York (WSIS+10). It was co-organized by ITU and the governments of Costa Rica, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and the United States, together with UN Women, Microsoft, Mozilla and the Association for Progressive Communication.

The Action Plan sets out a framework for critical actions to foster and accelerate inclusive and sustainable development by closing the digital gender gap and harness the transformative potential of ICTs for women’s empowerment. Women’s equal and meaningful participation in the digital society is seen as both integral to the realization of women’s rights in the 21st century, as well as the realization of a just, inclusive and rights-based information society aimed at achieving global objectives around gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2030…

.
Top UN Board supports ongoing implementation of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process
Role of ICTs seen as critical in achieving sustainable development goals
New York, 15 December 2015 – The United Nations Chief Executives Board (CEB), comprising of heads of UN agencies, today issued its resounding support for the WSIS process. In particular, they endorsed the pivotal role of ICTs in driving progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a joint statement to the United Nations General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10), the CEB drew a direct relationship between the WSIS process and the “momentous” adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It reaffirmed the important role of information and communication technologies (ICT) as a critical enabler for advancing the globally agreed development goals…

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/

.
Global Patent Filings Rise in 2014 for Fifth Straight Year; China Driving Growth
Innovators filed some 2.7 million patent applications to mark another worldwide annual rise in 2014, as application activity in China outstripped the combined total in its next-closest followers, the United States and Japan.
Dec 14, 2015 PR/2015/786

US Department of State [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/index.htm
Selected Announcements

.
12/18/15
International Migrants Day; Secretary of State John Kerry; Washington, DC

12/18/15
Remarks at the United Nations Security Council Meeting on Syria; Secretary of State John Kerry; New York, NY

12/16/15
U.S. Department of State Partners With International Council of Museums To Fight Illicit Traffic of Libyan Cultural Heritage; Office of the Spokesperson; Washington, DC

USAID [to 19 December 2015]
http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases

.
United States Announces $88 Million in Humanitarian Aid for Ethiopia
December 18, 2015
New aid will address the humanitarian crisis and the impact of El Niño
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $88 million in humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia today to address the humanitarian crisis resulting from the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon. The additional aid brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia to more than $435 million since the start of fiscal year 2015 and increases funding for nutrition, water, food, sanitation, and hygiene support.

.
USAID Awards $5 Million to Off Grid Electric
December 17, 2015
Funding Will Help Start-Up Reach One Million Homes in Tanzania
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s U.S. Global Development Lab today announced $5 million in follow-on funding to Off Grid Electric. The award, funded through the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) program, will allow Off Grid Electric to test its model at scale and catalyze additional investments to reach more than one million households.

.
The U.S. Announces $173 Million in Additional Emergency Food Assistance for South Sudan
December 15, 2015
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing an additional $173 million in lifesaving emergency food assistance for those suffering from hunger as a result of the conflict that broke out in South Sudan two years ago.