The COVID-19 lockdown in the U.S. began at a time of relatively mild weather and very few natural disasters, so for the past few months, the country has been able to focus mainly on the pandemic. But this week, two dams in Michigan failed after heavy rains and flooding, forcing 11,000 people to evacuate while trying to social distance. The floodwaters also threatened the Dow Chemical plant and two hazardous Superfund waste sites, which could have precipitated an environmental disaster. In India and Bangladesh, the most powerful cyclone in more than a decade forced over three million people to evacuate as relief teams tried to protect them against infection from COVID-19.

Investment in transforming the transport sector could create millions of new jobs and help countries move to greener, healthier economies, says report from the International Labour Organization and the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

The study finds that 10 million additional jobs could be created worldwide - 2.9 million in the UNECE region - if 50 per cent of all vehicles manufactured were electric. In addition, almost 5 million new jobs could be created worldwide - 2.5 million in the UNECE region - if UNECE countries doubled investment in public transport.

While the pandemic arrived after it had already devastated Europe (and now the United States), everybody in the human rights field knew that health and social services in Latin America had been dismantled progressively, mostly via privatisation and the shrinking of public programmes and spending. Hence the pandemic will affect principally the vulnerable people who can’t access basic public services.

While a global pandemic has been a looming risk for decades, COVID-19 has come as a shock to society, health systems, economies and governments worldwide. In the midst of extraordinary challenges and uncertainty, and countless personal tragedies, leaders are under pressure to make decisions on managing the immediate impact of the pandemic and its consequences, decisions that will shape the state of the world for years to come. What might be the silver linings in the crisis and how might leaders use this moment to build a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable world?

The agreement updates and expands an existing 1997 agreement between the two organizations. A key aim this year will be to support ongoing efforts to protect some 70 million forcibly displaced people from COVID-19. Around 26 million of these are refugees, 80 per cent of whom are sheltered in low and middle-income countries with weak health systems. Another 40 million internally displaced people also require assistance.

“Prior to Covid-19 technology gaps already existed in the region. Digital tools will be required to restore distribution channels – technologies that improve the efficiency of food production to make better use of agricultural products and surpluses, and others that ensure health, safety, quality and traceability”, said Murano, who is currently the director of the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agricultural of Texas A&M University.

Quarantine measures introduced in Ukraine due to coronavirus COVID-19 will be extended until June 22. Adaptive quarantine will be in effect, ie restrictive measures will be gradually eased depending on the epidemical situation in each region. There will be a total of 5 stages of quarantine relaxation.

“During a pandemic, we must overcome the structural inequalities that limit access to services. This means establishing mechanisms that support universal access to health regardless of income, pooling resources with the private and not for profit sector, eliminating payment at point of service and setting up emergency hospitals that add surge capacity where it is most needed.”

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is making available emergency loans to seven Caribbean countries, in the first instance, to finance the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a total of US$66.7 million for Antigua and Barbuda (US$13 million), Belize (US$15 million), Dominica (US$2.5 million), Grenada (US$5.9 million), Saint Lucia (US$10.8 million), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (US$11.3 million), and Suriname (US$8.2 million).

“The provision of support to the seven countries to respond to COVID-19 and keep critical government services and operations running is urgent to halt the economic decline and minimise social hardship, while giving focused attention to the most vulnerable people,” says CDB President Dr. Wm Warren Smith.

With  “unprecedented solidarity”, the World Health Assembly adopted a “landmark resolution” on Tuesday, which sets out a “clear roadmap” of the actions needed to sustain and accelerate the COVID-19 response at both national and international levels, the UN health agency chief told a press briefing on Wednesday, the day after the meeting concluded.

"Unless we open up our economy, we have millions facing starvation." That was the straightforward assessment of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on the impact of COVID-19 during a virtual meeting of the Forum's COVID Action Platform on 20 May.

Khan explained: "In Pakistan, we have 25 million workers who are either [on] daily wages or get paid weekly or are self-employed. When we locked down, like the whole of the world, to stop the spread of the virus, all these people became unemployed. When we're talking about 25 million workers, you're talking about 25 million families and it has affected almost 120-150 million people...unless the men and women work, they cannot feed their families."

En esta guía se presenta información sobre la higiene personal y las medidas básicas de prevención y control de infecciones, así como sobre la forma de cuidar de la manera más segura posible a la persona sospechosa de tener COVID-19 o ser portadora del virus y de evitar que la infección se propague a otros miembros del hogar. Esta ficha será de gran utilidad para el público en general como herramienta para la lucha contra la COVID-19.

En esta guía se presenta información sobre la higiene personal y las medidas básicas de prevención y control de infecciones con el propósito de evitar que la infección se propague. Esta ficha será de gran utilidad para el público en general como herramienta para la lucha contra la COVID-19.

Health authorities should take specific steps to protect health care workers and communities during essential immunization activities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, say experts at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

El alcohol es una sustancia nociva que tiene un efecto adverso en prácticamente todos los órganos del cuerpo y el riesgo de daño para la salud aumenta con cada trago que se consume. El consumo de bebidas alcohólicas, sobre todo si es excesivo, debilita el sistema inmunitario y reduce la capacidad para hacer frente a las enfermedades infecciosas, incluida la COVID-19. El consumo excesivo de alcohol es un factor de riesgo de síndrome de dificultad respiratoria aguda (SDRA), una de las complicaciones más graves de la COVID-19.

The HIV community and response have much to offer to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preparedness and resiliency. Having community-led organizations, such as people living with HIV (PLHIV) networks, engaged at the planning and response tables early on is key to build trust, ensure productive exchange of information, and lay the foundations for joint problem-solving measures.

Measures, adopted individually or in combination depending on the context, should be implemented as soon as possible after the determination of the transmission scenario. From the experience in countries, in WHO Regions other than the Americas, having experienced different transmission scenarios since the beginning of the pandemic, it seems prudent to plan for the implementation of measures for, at least, two to three months.

La OMS y las autoridades de salud pública de todo el mundo están actuando para contener el brote de COVID-19. Sin embargo, este momento de crisis está generando estrés en la población. Estas consideraciones de salud mental fueron elaboradas por el Departamento de la OMS de Salud Mental y Uso de Sustancias, como mensajes dirigidos a diferentes grupos clave para apoyar el bienestar psicosocial y la salud mental durante el brote de COVID-19.

El actual brote de COVID-19 ha provocado estigmatización social y comportamientos discriminatorios contra personas de determinados orígenes étnicos, así como contra cualquier persona que se considere que ha estado en contacto con el virus.

La estigmatización puede socavar la cohesión social y provocar el aislamiento social de grupos de población, lo que podría contribuir a que las probabilidades de propagación del virus sean mayores, no menores. Esto puede dar lugar a problemas de salud más graves y a dificultades para controlar un brote de la enfermedad.