The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a three-year partnership in Ethiopia to support the Government in preventing acute malnutrition in children and mothers and provide school-based nutrition and health services.
The first-of-its-kind partnership underlines the urgency of preventing acute malnutrition in Ethiopia, which has seen insufficient progress over the past two decades, and where malnutrition levels are likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing desert locust infestation, and persistent climate-related crises such as floods and droughts.
This year, 4.4 million people in the country will require treatment for severe and acute malnutrition – 2.7 million children and 1.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Both agencies believe that sustained and intensive action is required, combining school and community-based prevention activities with expanded access to treatment for children and mothers with acute malnutrition in selected hotspot woredas (districts). This approach would help Ethiopia move towards the goal of decreasing acute malnutrition in children from nearly 10 percent to less than three percent by 2030.

“With this platform, we have the possibility of reaching between 600 million and 800 million mobile subscribers in Africa,” said Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), during the virtual launch of the Africa Communication and Information Platform for Health and Economic Action (ACIP) on 23 June 2020.
ACIP is a mobile-based tool for two-way information and communication between citizens and governments. It furnishes national and regional COVID task forces with user-generated survey data and actionable health and economic insights that will enable authorities to better analyze pandemic-related problems and implement appropriate responses.
Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC said the platform offers a “unique opportunity to change the way we conduct disease surveillance, enhance our ability to acquire good and timely data, and make all Africans count.”

A new analysis by UNAIDS has revealed the potential impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic could have in low- and middle-income countries around the world on supplies of the generic antiretroviral medicines used to treat HIV.
The UNAIDS survey discovered that the lockdowns and border closures imposed to stop COVID-19 are impacting both the production of medicines and their distribution, potentially leading to increases in their cost and to supply issues, including stock-outs over the next two months.
“It is vital that countries urgently make plans now to mitigate the possibility and impacts of higher costs and reduced availability of antiretroviral medicines,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “I call on countries and buyers of HIV medicines to act swiftly in order to ensure that everyone who is currently on treatment continues to be on it, saving lives and stopping new HIV infections.”
Since 24.5 million people were on antiretroviral therapy at the end of June 2019, millions of people could be at risk of harm-both to themselves and others owing to an increased risk of HIV transmission-if they cannot continue to access their treatment. A recent modelling exercise estimated that a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa alone could lead to 500 000 additional AIDS-related deaths.

Emirates announced it will offer scheduled flights for travelers in 10 more cities: Colombo, Sialkot, Istanbul, Auckland, Beirut, Brussels, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Barcelona and Washington DC.
Emirates’ flights from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Pakistan, will only carry outbound passengers to the UAE and onward destinations.
This will take the total number of Emirates destinations on offer for travelers to 40, providing more options for customers who wish to return home or those traveling for essential purposes.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “Thanks to the UAE authorities’ support and partnership, Emirates has been able to provide smooth and safe journeys for those who need to travel, and we look forward to adding flights to more destinations in the coming weeks. The UAE government’s recent announcement to ease travel for UAE citizens and residents show the thorough approach that our country is taking with regards to resuming economic activities, and as we gradually return to regular services, Emirates’ number one priority will always be the health and safety of our customers, our crew and our communities.”