COVID-19

Bangladesh

26 January - Our UN team in Bangladesh, led by acting Resident Coordinator Robert Simpson, is working with the Government on the socioeconomic response to COVID-19. We are providing support with contact-tracing, reaching over 1.8 million households in the capital, Dhaka, and supporting with the identification of 35,000 suspected COVID-19 cases. Our team also distributed nearly 300,000 masks and registered over 135,000 people from vulnerable households for COVID-19 vaccination. We are also supporting the national vaccination plan, with UNICEF delivering 48 ultra-low temperature freezers to boost cold-chain capacity, while contributing to the vaccination of vulnerable refugees in Cox’s Bazar. To date, 81 per cent of camp residents over 18 have received one COVID-19 vaccine dose, with 8 per cent fully vaccinated. On the socioeconomic front, UNDP is providing support to small businesses, including those led by women, to access the national COVID stimulus package while providing cash assistance to families who lost their income due to the pandemic. On risk communications support, we reached 76 million people on COVID-19 prevention and mitigation measures.

Democratic Republic of Congo

18 January - Our UN team in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is supporting the on-going national COVID-19 responses, boosting cold chain facilities to safely store vaccines. UNICEF provided more than 100 refrigerators and three cold rooms, while the team is procuring 100 solar refrigerators, 100 freezers, three cold chain devices, two generators, 500 coolers and 1,000 vaccine carriers. WHO continues providing technical support to procure vaccines and to ensure vaccination sites follow health protocols. Over 6.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses are currently available in DRC, with more than 1.8 million doses sent to 15 provinces. Nearly 240,000 people have been fully vaccinated. Our UN team, including WHO and UNICEF, are also supporting authorities with communication programmes to boost vaccine confidence and combat misinformation.

India

25 January - Our UN Team in India, led by Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp, continues to support authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19, including developing robust surveillance and monitoring measures, boosting lab capacity, developing response plans, procuring, and distributing PPE, training health care workers, and disseminating life-saving information.

The team is working with authorities in fast-tracking vaccine rollout, including for healthcare workers and communities in high-risk groups, while supporting national vaccination drives, including the government’s Co-Win initiative. UNDP trained over 1.2 million personnel on using the Co-WIN app for COVID-19 vaccination tracking. For its part, WHO deployed 2,600 field officers and personnel across 23 states to provide technical support. We are also boosting cold chain capacity while providing mental health and psychosocial support to more than 460,000 people, including women and children. Our team delivered over 70 oxygen generating plants, over 10,000 oxygen concentrators, high-performance tents to support additional health facilities and over 10 million pieces of PPE and other material. On communications support we reached an estimated 600 million people with COVID-19 prevention and mitigation messages, while UNICEF provided risk communications training to over 1.3 million healthcare workers. To date, India has administered over 1.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

COVAX

Bangladesh

Our UN team facilitated the delivery of nearly 130 million COVID-19 vaccines, over half of all vaccines received in Bangladesh, through the COVAX facility.

Bolivia

5 January - Early this month, Bolivia received two batches with nearly 2 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, including 70 per cent from Spain and 30 from Germany through COVAX.

Haiti

19 January - Haiti received nearly 40,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from the USA through COVAX Facility, bringing the total of vaccines received through the programme to 800,000.

Guyana

Guyana received nearly 29,000 single-dosed COVID-19 vaccines (Johnson & Johnson) from Spain through COVAX, bringing the total number of COVAX vaccines to over 290,000 in the country. So far, 60 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated in Guyana.

Paraguay

Paraguay received over 460,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Germany through the COVAX Facility, which brings the total number of COVAX-backed doses the country received to nearly 2.5 million. Over 42 per cent of the population in Paraguay is fully vaccinated.

Peru

Peru received nearly 2 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that it has purchased through COVAX, bringing the total COVAX doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 6.3 million in the country.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua received nearly one million single-dose Janssen vaccines against COVID-19, from Spain through the COVAX mechanism. This is the 15th COVAX arrival to the country, bringing the total number of vaccine doses received so far to over 5 million doses.

Rwanda

The one billionth dose of COVAX-backed vaccines distributed globally arrived in Rwanda on 19 January. This was part of a shipment with 1.1 million vaccines for Rwanda, which is enabling authorities to continue rolling out the COVID-19 national vaccination campaign for 9.1 million people aged 12 and above. A total of 17 million doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have landed in the country so far through COVAX, contributing to the full vaccination of over 43 per cent of the population.

Venezuela

Venezuela received a fifth shipment with over 3.1 million Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX mechanism, bringing the total number of vaccines that Venezuela received through COVAX to more than 12 million.

Other topics

Afghanistan

26 January - As mentioned by the Secretary-General at the Security Council, our UN team in Afghanistan launched their One-UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) to assist Afghans in 2022. The TEF is the overarching strategic planning document, ensuring the coordination of the UN team’s work to reduce the suffering of the people of Afghanistan by saving lives, sustaining essential services—such as health and education—and preserving essential community systems. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, said that this new strategy will help ensure that Afghans can meet their basic human needs and that acting on this now is more important than ever to avoid that an even wider proportion of the population requires lifesaving humanitarian assistance, especially during these harsh winter months. He also thanked the international community for stepping up their vital support to the Afghan population.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

18 January - In Bosnia and Herzegovina, our UN Resident Coordinator Ingrid MacDonald continues to raise the alarm to combat hate speech. Regarding recent incidents involving the glorification of war criminals and damage to the inscriptions paying tribute to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, she stressed that such events have no place in a democratic society as that they perpetuate the suffering of survivors and families of victims, who deserve respect and solidarity. She also calls upon authorities to ensure measures are taken to prevent and act upon manifestations of hatred and discrimination, as all people in Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve to live in an environment of mutual understanding, respect, and dignity.

Ecuador

18 January - In Ecuador our Resident Coordinator Lena Savelli joined authorities in Galapagos—on behalf of the Secretary-General— for the signing of an Executive Decree that extends the current marine protected area there, with an additional 60,000 square kilometers (km2), which is over 23,000 square miles. This follows up on Ecuador’s commitments at COP26 in Glasgow last November. Ms. Savelli said via Twitter that this protected area is a big opportunity for Ecuador and the world to protect biodiversity and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The creation of this extensive protected area is a joint effort between the Governments of Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama that will contribute to protect biodiversity, tackle climate change and secure food and livelihoods in the Galapagos. In addition to President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador, President Iván Duque of Colombia and the former President Bill Clinton of the United States, alongside other authorities, joined the event. UNESCO declared Galapagos Natural Heritage of Humanity, back in 1978. A call was made to the world to join this collective effort and to preserve the irreplaceable treasures in this protected area. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen hailed the announcement via Twitter as it protects a “highway” for sea turtles, sharks, and other migrating marine life.

Haiti

12 January - In Haiti our Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Bruno Lemarquis joined a ceremony to pay homage to the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who lost their lives and many thousands more who were permanently injured due to the devastating earthquake that hit the country 12 years ago. Mr. Lemarquis also remembered our 102 UN personnel who lost their lives that day and said that Haiti has drawn on the resilience of its people, the work of its institutions and the assistance of its many friends and supporters to overcome that tragedy. This same sense of resilience and solidarity has allowed Haitians to respond to the dramatic earthquake that hit the southern regions last August, he added. He also renewed the commitment of the UN team on the ground to work with the country’s friends and supporters to build a sustainable, inclusive, and brighter future for all Haitians.

Serbia

14 January - The UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia, Françoise Jacob, is concerned about the rising number of incidents of glorification of war criminals, genocide denial, extreme nationalism and hate speech. She said that the recent expressions of extreme nationalism and provocation, in the cities of Novi Pazar and Priboj undermine peaceful coexistence in an ethnically and culturally mixed region of South Serbia. This comes after multiple similar incidents and the appearance of murals of war criminals across the country. Ethnic division, hate speech, and the glorification of war criminals are a threat on the pathway towards a peaceful, safe and prosperous future for Serbia and the region. Ms. Jacob highlighted the importance of learning lessons from the past and for authorities to condemn and prevent such demonstrations of discrimination and hate. While dangerous rhetoric is promoted by a marginal fringe of people, the lack of systemic reaction from authorities and relevant institutions hinders the efforts of society towards diversity and justice, she added. The UN team in Serbia is committed to supporting reconciliation, peace building and justice, combatting hate speech, and working with all stakeholders throughout the region.

Uganda

11 January - Our UN team in Uganda welcomed the reopening of schools and renewed its full commitment to education for all. During the longest COVID-led school closure period globally – from March 2020 to January 2022 – our UN team has worked with authorities and development partners to maintain the continuity of remote learning and prepare for a safe school reopening. UNICEF has been providing self-learning material and broadcasted educational content through radio and television, including to support parenting education during the pandemic. The UN team also supported authorities to formulate the School Re-opening Strategy. UN Resident Coordinator Susan Ngongi Namondo acknowledged the challenges, especially in view of the officials’ expectation that a third of students may not return to class at all. She said that while schools have reopened, the prolonged closure has had significant effects. Many students have moved on to other things, she added, with a particular impact on girls, as many teenagers became mothers. She said that many teachers have also left the profession and many private schools have closed. The Resident Coordinator called on all national and international partners to work together to address these challenges, with a renewed commitment from the UN team.