The large US internet platforms have unveiled a joint effort to root out misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, while Facebook announced a $100 million program to aid small firms impacted by the crisis.
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Amazon said Monday that it needs to hire 100,000 people across the U.S. to keep up with a crush of orders as the coronavirus spreads and keeps more people at home, shopping online.
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Smart speakers—think, an Amazon Alexa or a Google Home—offer a wide variety of capabilities to help free up both our time and our hands. We can hear the morning news while brushing our teeth, ask for a weather report while picking out a coat, and set a timer for the oven while handling two hot pans at once. According to Voicebot.ai, Alexa is supporting more than 100,000 skills worldwide, but one task it hasn’t mastered is determining user location in the home.
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On
5 February, the WHO Executive Board recommended to the 73rd World
Health Assembly the adoption of the draft Global Strategy to accelerate
the elimination of
cervical cancer as a public health problem, and urged its
implementation. The proposed resolution urges Member States to implement
the strategy, calling for the support of international organizations
and other relevant stakeholders, and includes a request
for the Director General to support Member states in this endeavor.
The WHA will consider the resolution when it convenes in May 2020. The
session included 23 interventions from EB Member States, most of them
in full support of the Strategy and resolution;
18 from other Member States, 6 observers and 6 non-state actors. Dr
Nono Simelela, ADG and Special Adviser to WHO Director-General Dr
Tedros, responded at the end of the session, thanking delegates for the
broad support, and addressing some of the comments
by sharing some of the ongoing work such as the efforts with the
immunization partners to address HPV vaccine supply challenges and
transparency in pricing.
Read the full draft resolution
Dr Nono Simelela presented the draft Global Strategy towards Eliminating Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem during a webinar with partners. This presentation was given as part of
the Us vs. HPV Prevention Week webinar series hosted by the Global
Initiative Against HPV and Cervical
Cancer. While highlighting WHO’s life-course approach to cervical
cancer control, Dr Simelela also explained the proposed elimination
threshold and targets as laid out in the strategy. She also discussed
addressing salient challenges such as redressing inequities
and taking special considerations for women living with HIV.
Listen to the full webinar “Gathering momentum for the global elimination of cervical cancer”
Watch the video: Cervical Cancer Elimination – developed by Basic Health International (BHI), Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the Global Initiative Against HPV and Cervical Cancer (GIAHC)
Read the story:To eliminate cervical cancer in the next 100 years, implementing an effective strategy is critical
Dr
Simelela was invited to Rwanda to support the kick off for a national
cervical screening program set to put Rwanda on the path towards the
Global Strategy goals
for elimination of cervical cancer.
Amongst
others, Rwanda’s First Lady Jeannette Kagame received her for a
discussion on how WHO can support efforts against cervical cancer in her
own country and
throughout Africa. Dr Simelela held discussions on cervical cancer
screening and treatment services, including building radiotherapy
capacity, with the dedicated staff of Ruhengeri Hospital, Butaro
Hospital, the Muhoza health center and hospital and the Rwanda
Military Hospital. While cervical cancer and breast cancer are the most
prevalent cancers among the women in the country, Rwanda has
impressively reached a 97% HPV vaccination rate since introducing a
vaccination programme in 2011, with a target to reach 70%
screening coverage in five years. We look forward to a continuing and
fruitful partnership with Rwanda and all the countries who have pledged
their commitment to eliminate this preventable cancer. Together we can
answer WHO’s call and improve the lives of
girls and women around the world.
For
International Women’s Day
8 March 2020
64th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women/Beijing+25
9 – 20 March 2020
World Immunization Week
24 – 30 April 2020
Copyright © 2019 World Health Organization, All rights reserved.
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Our mailing address is:
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As of today’s reports, the global number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 100 000. As we mark this sombre moment, the World Health Organization (WHO) reminds all countries and communities that the spread of this virus can be significantly slowed or even reversed through the implementation of robust containment and control activities.
China and other countries are demonstrating that spread of the virus can be slowed and impact reduced through the use of universally applicable actions, such as working across society to identify people who are sick, bringing them to care, following up on contacts, preparing hospitals and clinics to manage a surge in patients, and training health workers.
WHO calls on all countries to continue efforts that have been effective in limiting the number of cases and slowing the spread of the virus.
Every effort to contain the virus and slow the spread saves lives. These efforts give health systems and all of society much needed time to prepare, and researchers more time to identify effective treatments and develop vaccines.
Allowing uncontrolled spread should not be a choice of any government, as it will harm not only the citizens of that country but affect other countries as well.
We must stop, contain, control, delay and reduce the impact of this virus at every opportunity. Every person has the capacity to contribute, to protect themselves, to protect others, whether in the home, the community, the health care system, the work place or the transport system.
Leaders at all levels and in all walks of life must step forward to bring about this commitment across society.
WHO will continue to work with all countries, our partners and expert networks to coordinate the international response, develop guidance, distribute supplies, share knowledge and provide people with the information they need to protect themselves and others.
.tmb-1200v.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=84087804_2 "WHO statement on cases of COVID-19 surpassing 100 000 12")
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A point set registration problem is a task using two shapes, each consisting of a set of points, to estimate the relationship of individual points between the two shapes. Here, a “shape” is like a human body or face, which is similar to another body or face but exhibits morphological diversity. Taking the face as an example: the center position of the pupil of an eye varies depending on individuals but can be thought to have a correspondence with that of another person. Such a correspondence can be estimated by gradually deforming one shape to be superimposable on the other. Estimation of the correspondence of a point on one shape to a point on another is the point set registration problem. Since the number of points of one shape could be millions, estimation of correspondence is calculated by a computer. Nonetheless, up to now, even when the fastest conventional method was used, it took a lot of time for calculation for registration of ca. 100,000 points. Thus, algorithms that could find a solution far faster without affecting accuracy have been sought. Furthermore, preliminary registration before automated estimation was a prerequisite for the conventional calculation method, so algorithms that do not need preliminary registration are desirable.
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When your boss calls and tells you to wire $100,000 to a supplier, be on your toes. It could be a fake call.
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Two Chinese nationals were charged Monday with laundering over $100 million in cryptocurrency that had been stolen by North Korean hackers, U.S. prosecutors said.
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Major travel disruptions due to the new coronavirus have already caused the equivalent of a roughly $100 million loss to airlines in the Middle East, which serves as a connection hub for east-west travel, the industry’s main trade association said Monday.
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UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock today released US$15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus.
The announcement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high” – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken.
The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning. There are now cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, along with cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
The UN funding has been released to the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It will fund essential activities including monitoring the spread of the virus, investigating cases, and the operation of national laboratories.
The WHO has called for US$675 million to fund the fight against coronavirus. There is a window of opportunity to contain the spread of the virus if countries take robust measures to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts.
Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock said: “We do not yet see evidence that the virus is spreading freely. As long as that’s the case, we still have a chance of containing it.
“But swift and robust action must be taken to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts. We must act now to stop this virus from putting more lives at risk.
“This grant from the UN’s Emergency Fund will help countries with fragile health systems boost their detection and response operations. It has the potential to save the lives of millions of vulnerable people.”
This is a critical juncture in the outbreak. The focus is on containing COVID-19 by strengthening surveillance, conducting thorough outbreak investigations to identify contacts and applying appropriate measures to prevent further spread.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: “The potential spread of the virus to countries with weaker health systems is one of our biggest concerns. These funds will help support these countries get ready for detecting and isolating cases, protecting their health workers, and treating patients with dignity and appropriate care. This will help us save lives and push back the virus”
UNICEF is leading on preventative actions in communities across the affected countries with risk communication, providing hygiene and medical kits to schools and health clinics and monitoring the impact of the outbreak to support continuity of care, education and social services.
“At this pivotal moment, every effort must be made to push back against the outbreak,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “These crucial funds will support our global efforts to bolster weaker health systems and inform children, pregnant women and families about how to protect themselves.”
Since it was launched in 2006, CERF has provided more than $6 billion to over 100 countries and helped hundreds of millions of people.
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