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WHO, UN Foundation and partners launch first-of-its-kind COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

GENEVA and Washington, D.C. – A new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Solidarity Response Fund will raise money from a wide range of donors to support the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to help countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund, the first-of-its-kind, enables private individuals, corporations and institutions anywhere in the world to come together to directly contribute to global response efforts, and has been created by the United Nations Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, together with WHO.

“We are at a critical point in the global response to COVID-19 – we need everyone to get involved in this massive effort to keep the world safe,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We are immensely grateful to the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation for coming forward to help us set up this fund. A lot of people and institutions have been saying they want to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus. Now they can.”

The fund launches with major support already lined up, including from Facebook and Google who have instituted a matching scheme for funds raised through their platforms, while individual donors are also supporting the fund through www.COVID19ResponseFund.org.

“We can’t ignore the fact that this is a truly global problem – one that requires truly global solutions,” said Elizabeth Cousens, UN Foundation President and CEO. “The case for global cooperation could not be clearer – communities everywhere are affected, and people want to contribute. This new fund will create space for people everywhere, together, to fight this virus.”

Funds will go towards actions outlined in the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to enable all countries – particularly those most vulnerable and at-risk, and with the weakest health systems – to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 crisis including rapidly detecting cases, stopping transmission of the virus, and caring for those affected.

WHO and its partners are seeking financing for protective equipment for frontline health workers; to equip diagnostic laboratories; improve surveillance and data collection; establish and maintain intensive care units; strengthen supply chains; accelerate research and development of vaccines and therapeutics; and take other critical steps to scale up the public health response to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is hosted by two foundations, the UN Foundation (registered in the United States) and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation (registered in Switzerland). Both foundations have established relationships with the World Health Organization, allowing for efficient transfer of financial resources to enable COVID-19 response efforts.

Apart from giving online at www.COVID19ResponseFund.org, the UN Foundation can also receive donations via check or wire from around the world by contacting COVID19Fund@unfoundation.org.

All donations made to the United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by the law, where applicable (U.S. and Switzerland). Additionally, Swiss Philanthropy Foundation has partnered with Transnational Giving Europe to extend tax benefit to certain additional European countries where applicable.

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More:

COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak information

About the United Nations Foundation

The UN Foundation brings together the ideas, people, and resources the United Nations needs to drive global progress and tackle urgent problems. Our hallmark is to collaborate for lasting change and innovate to address humanity’s greatest challenges. With an insider’s knowledge and outsider’s flexibility, we stay agile to get things done. Learn more at: www.unfoundation.org.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-03-2020-who-un-foundation-and-partners-launch-first-of-its-kind-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund

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March 14, 2020
The unmet need for social context in family planning

New evidence on the relationship between sexual health and social context finds a strong association between gender equality, education and family planning

Twenty-five years ago, two global events – the International Conference on Population and Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing – formally recognized that women’s health and reproductive choices cannot be separated from the social context of their lives.

Now, researchers have created a dataset which brings together national surveys from 74 countries, representing 3 million women. For the first time, it allows them to describe trends in demand/use of modern contraceptives alongside social and economic indicators.

The data is published in The Lancet Global Health and is authored by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization.

It shows that, over time, women are more likely to have their demand for modern contraception met in countries where gender equality and their educational opportunities improve.

Gender equality and education increases access to modern contraception

Trends in sexual activity and demand for use and use of modern contraceptive methods in 74 countries: a retrospective analysis of nationally representative surveys finds that met need for modern contraception is strongly correlated with positive shifts in social structures.
For every 0.1-point increase in a country’s gender development index, it found a 6.7% rise in women who were sexually active and did not want to conceive. Of those women, an additional 13.5% used modern methods to prevent a pregnancy.

Expectations of every girl’s right to education also made a difference. Each extra year in schooling is linked to an increase of 2.3% in demand, and a 4.7% increase in use of modern contraceptive methods.

“This study shows how every woman must negotiate her reproductive autonomy within the social framework in which she lives, responding to barriers and opportunities as they emerge,” says Dr Lale Say, one of the authors of the study and Unit Head at WHO and HRP.

“Gender equality is both a precondition and a driving force for securing women’s reproductive health and rights – as well as the sustainable development targets, which are our best chance for delivering health and well-being for all.”

Global trends reveal new challenges in family planning

Overall, the data reinforce global trends: more time spent sexually-active and single, postponement of parenthood, and the near-universal desire for smaller families.

The study also highlights where action is needed at country-level to avoid family planning services falling behind demand.

Out of the 74 countries analyzed, 42 showed an increase in demand for contraception. Only 37 countries show an increase in use of a modern method to prevent pregnancy.

Although unmet need for contraception declined in 34 countries, it increased in 14 countries. Significantly more progress is needed, and faster, to ensure each girl and woman is able to access the sexual and reproductive health services she needs.

Barriers and solutions to reproductive health and rights

Gender equality can affect contraceptive use in many ways. From the personal and political degree to which women are free to choose their sexual activity, to accessing family planning services it can also shape any power imbalances within personal relationships. This study supports recent efforts by WHO to adopt a broader, integrated concept of sexual and reproductive health – and to translate it into a framework for policy and practice.

The authors argue that family planning targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be met without a profound shift: from focus on ‘access to contraception’, to broader aspects of sexual health and social context.

Since reproductive health and women’s empowerment are intertwined, trends in contraceptive use can also reveal progress towards another global target: progress towards gender equality.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/10-03-2020-the-unmet-need-for-social-context-in-family-planning

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March 11, 2020
Cervical cancer elimination initiative updates

February: Garnering international support on the path to eliminate cervical cancer

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 story

Read the full draft resolution

Download the
Draft Strategy

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.

Read the full story

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.

Follow us for more updates!

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For
news and real-time updates from around the world,
follow Dr Princess Nono Simelela on Twitter
@DrNonoSimelela
ADG, Special Adviser to the Director-General on Strategic Programmatic Priorities

Upcoming events

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

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/04-03-2020-cervical-cancer-elimination-initiative-updates-december-2019

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March 11, 2020
Edited Biden video portends social media challenges in 2020

As former Vice President Joe Biden’s drive for the White House gains momentum, the 77-year-old’s political opponents on both the right and left have launched an internet campaign suggesting he’s not mentally or physically equipped to serve—sometimes using altered content and other disinformation to make their case.

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March 10, 2020
Women’s health and rights: 25 years of progress?

The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains the world’s most progressive blueprint for advancing gender equality worldwide. Twenty-five years after it was affirmed by 189 countries, what progress has been made in raising this blueprint
off the page?

On International Women’s Day the World Health Organization, United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health and the British Medical Journal have launched a special series marking ‘Beijing+25’.

It shines a spotlight on health, education, environment, work and other critical foundations of life as they empower or restrict the rights and well-being of girls and women.

Women’s rights are human rights

Every person’s right to control their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health is linked to their human rights. This makes sexual and reproductive health and rights a cornerstone of the Beijing strategy: both as a driver towards gender equality,
and a fundamental part of it.

The first article in the series, ‘25 years after the Beijing Declaration we need to reaffirm that women’s rights are human rights,’ highlights recent advances in gender equality and celebrates
the rise of a new and determined generation of activists, working together to empower girls and women.

It also expresses concern that progress has been superficial and not fast enough. Some critical areas of work have slowed or even been pushed back, such as comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, services and rights.

The authors ask for increased and direct investment in women and girls, to meet their specific health needs and accelerate equal rights for all.

Uneven progress in sexual and reproductive health and rights

The Beijing Declaration affirms that the human rights of women cannot be separated from the universal human rights of every person – but that without concrete actions to strengthen them, they will remain rights in name only.

Some advances in this area since 1995 can be measured by health outcomes, including a reduction in both maternal mortality and rates of female genital mutilation. Positive change is also reflected in public awareness: concepts of period poverty and sexual
harassment, once taboo, are being taken up in day-to-day language.

And yet today, sexual and reproductive health conditions remain one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity for women and girls. Violence against women and girls is the most frequent human rights abuse worldwide.

Twenty-five years on, the Beijing agenda is still relevant and still unfinished.

Defending the defenders of women’s health and rights

Although The Platform for Action is repeatedly affirmed in international and governmental forums, women and girls still face social, political and cultural barriers to controlling their sexuality, sexual and reproductive health.

Their decisions cannot be free from coercion, discrimination and violence if they are made in the context of power imbalances, harmful gender norms and inequalities.

The authors from HRP, the Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, the Supreme Court of Nepal, the WHO and Women Deliver call for a system of protection for women’s human rights defenders everywhere.

They celebrate new communities of frontline defenders, civil society movements holding governments to account, and vibrant coalitions such as Generation Equality as drivers of achievements in girls and women’s rights over the last twenty-five years.

An anniversary is an opportunity for change

Governments are preparing for the 64^th Commission on the Status of Women in late March, where they will review implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and challenges affecting full realization of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.

They will recognize that no country has fully achieved equality, and that women and girls who experience multiple forms of discrimination throughout their lives are still the most held back.

If this collective reflection can be shifted into action, 2020 will become a new anniversary: a pivotal year for the accelerated realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, everywhere.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/08-03-2020-women-s-health-and-rights-25-years-of-progress

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March 8, 2020
Simplified modelling of application and infrastructure

In recent years, the global market has seen a tremendous rise in utility computing, which serves as the back-end for practically any new technology, methodology or advancement in ICT, from healthcare to aerospace. The industry is entering a new era of heterogeneous, software-defined, high-performance computing environments and brings with it new challenges.

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March 3, 2020
Study sheds light on new IEEE standard categories, showing power system impact

In 2003, when the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) first drafted standards around distributed energy resources (DERs) connecting with the grid, solar power capacity was less than 1% of its current capacity. The standards document, IEEE 1547-2003, could not anticipate the technical challenges that solar and other DERs would present more than a decade later as a growing share of generation. These challenges were addressed in 2018 through a comprehensive revision of the standard.

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March 2, 2020
Socially assistive robot helps children with autism learn

Many children with autism face developmental delays, including communication and behavioral challenges and difficulties with social interaction. This makes learning new skills a major challenge, especially in traditional school environments.

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February 27, 2020
WHO steps up action to improve access to safe blood
The World Health Organization’s new action plan to speed up universal access to safe blood and blood products pulls together existing recommendations and recommends new improved ways of working. It’s the start of a four-year collaborative effort to improve blood transfusion and blood-based therapies in all countries.

Safe blood saves lives in all sorts of circumstances, not least in emergency and epidemic settings. Blood transfusion and blood products are critical for birth delivery for both the mother and baby; the survival and quality of life of patients suffering from life-threatening conditions such as haemophilia, thalassemia, immune deficiency and cancer; treating severe injuries and carrying out medical and surgical procedures.

But progress in blood safety and availability has been slow in many parts of the world, placing patients’ safety at risk and putting undue pressure on health workers. Progress is also mostly restricted to developed countries. Out of the approximate 118 million blood donations collected globally, 42% are collected in high-income countries, home to 16 % of the world’s population. And one out of four low-income countries do not test all donated blood, while 54% of countries do not have surveillance systems to securitise the supply chain from blood donor to patient.

Challenges include: slow implementation of national blood policies and weak blood regulatory systems; insufficient number of voluntary blood donors (who are considered the safest donors); poor quality management of screening tests, blood grouping and compatibility testing; inappropriate clinical use of blood; insufficient national funding for blood safety.

To address these, WHO has set out six key objectives for all countries and in particular those with weak blood systems:
- appropriately structured, well-coordinated and sustainably resourced national blood systems;
- regulatory capacity to ensure the quality and safety of blood;
- functioning and efficiently managed blood services;
- effective implementation of patient blood management to optimize transfusion practices;
- effective surveillance, haemovigilance and pharmacovigilance, supported by comprehensive and accurate data collection systems;
- partnerships, collaboration and information exchange to achieve key priorities and jointly address challenges and emerging threats at global, regional and national levels.
The Organization looks forward to working with partners worldwide to implement the plan, improve blood supply particularly in the low and middle-income countries where this is so urgently needed, and save lives. The plan will run from 2020-2024.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/26-02-2020-who-steps-up-action-to-improve-access-to-safe-blood

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February 27, 2020
WHO Action framework to advance universal access to safe, effective and quality assured blood products 2020 -2023

In response to calls for action, WHO has provided guidelines, physical standards, training and technical support to improve blood product quality, safety and availability in WHO regions and in countries. Despite these actions, progress in blood availability and safety under effective regulation has been slow in many parts of the world.

For that reason, the WHO Action framework for blood products 2020-2023, proposes a renewed effort to scale up programme implementation to improve global adequacy of blood donation, and universal access to quality and safe blood and blood components for transfusion, and plasma derived medicinal products.

The Action Framework provides strategic direction to WHO’s work for the years 2020-2023. It identifies six strategic objectives: appropriately structured, well-coordinated and sustainably resourced national blood systems; regulatory capacity to ensure the quality and safety of blood; functioning and efficiently managed blood services; effective implementation of patient blood management to optimize transfusion practices, effective surveillance, haemovigilance and pharmacovigilance, supported by comprehensive and accurate data collection systems; and partnerships, collaboration and information exchange to achieve key priorities and jointly address challenges and emerging threats at global, regional and national levels.

The Action Framework will improve coordination and collaboration at all levels of WHO. The document will promote and strengthen new and existing partnerships, as areas for collaborative action are clearly identified. Moreover, it demonstrates the need for support to WHO (including sustainable funding) to coordinate the implementation of this ambitious plan. As a result, the Action Framework for blood products will allow WHO to more effectively carry out its mandate on blood, and to increase the impact of WHO activities to strengthen blood systems and blood regulation in countries and regions and eventually to ensure universal access to blood products worldwide.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/19-02-2020-who-action-framework-to-advance-universal-access-to-safe-effective-and-quality-assured-blood-products-2020–2023

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February 27, 2020