Following the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and as part of the country’s continuous humanitarian efforts to support other nations in confronting challenges and crises, the UAE has  dispatched several aircraft carrying Monkeypox vaccines to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon, to support their efforts to address and contain the outbreak of the virus.

His Excellency Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, said: “The support offered highlights the significant importance placed by the UAE on enhancing global humanitarian and healthcare efforts, and affirms the country’s steadfast commitment to assisting other nations during crises and disasters.”

His Excellency added: “The initiative reflects the UAE’s commitment to humanitarian values as part of its ongoing commitment to extend a helping hand and assist impacted communities across the world.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs&International Cooperation.

UNICEF today announced that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines. Vaccines can play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak which was declared a public health emergency by both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UNICEF tender is issued to help secure mpox vaccines for the hardest hit countries in collaboration with Africa CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and other partners. This collaboration to increase access and timely allocation also includes working together to facilitate donations of vaccines from existing stockpiles in high-income countries with the aim of containing the ongoing transmission of mpox.

Under the emergency tender, UNICEF will set up conditional supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers. This will enable UNICEF to purchase and ship vaccines without delay once countries and partners have secured financing, confirmed demand and readiness, and the regulatory requirements for accepting the vaccines are in place.  WHO is currently reviewing the information submitted by manufacturers on 23 August and is expected to complete its review for Emergency Use Listing by mid-September.

More than 18,000 suspected cases of mpox, including 629 deaths, have been reported this year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is at the epicentre of the crisis. Four out of five deaths have been in children.

“Addressing the current mpox vaccine shortage and delivering vaccines to communities who need them now is of paramount importance. There is also a pressing need for a universal and transparent allocation mechanism to ensure equitable access to mpox vaccines,” said Director of UNICEF Supply Division Leila Pakkala.

“As we confront the ongoing Mpox outbreak, the timely procurement and distribution of vaccines is crucial to protecting the most vulnerable populations, particularly in the hardest-hit regions. This emergency tender is a critical step forward in our collective effort to control the spread of this disease. Africa CDC is committed to ensuring that vaccines are allocated swiftly and equitably across the continent, in partnership with UNICEF, Gavi, WHO, and other key stakeholders. Our unified response is essential to curbing the impact of this public health emergency and safeguarding the health and well-being of our communities,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC.

“With several partners working on securing access to supply, today’s announcement represents an important step in this emergency, enabling UNICEF to purchase and deliver vaccines after Gavi and other partners make funding available and sign purchase or donation agreements with manufacturers for the most immediate dose needs,” said Dr Derrick Sim, interim Chief Vaccine Programmes and Markets Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “Securing access to supply and financing, delivering doses, and in parallel ensuring countries are ready to administer them, are all vital actions that need to be conducted rapidly but thoroughly, and in a coordinated manner. We welcome this tender as another positive step our Alliance and Africa CDC are taking in this response.”

“A swift, coordinated, and equitable response is critical to controlling the current mpox emergency and preventing future ones,” said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO incident manager for the global mpox response and acting Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention. “All of us must act decisively now or risk allowing mpox to spread further and become an even greater global threat. In an interconnected world, the fight against mpox – as with other infectious diseases and health threats — cannot be waged alone., WHO is glad to partner with UNICEF, Gavi, Africa CDC, other partners and affected countries to get life-saving tools to people in need.”

The emergency tender is designed to secure immediate access to available mpox vaccines as well as to expand production. Depending on demand, production capacity of manufacturers and funding, agreements for up to 12 million doses through 2025 can be put in place.

Vaccines are one of several tools used to interrupt transmission and to protect children and communities against mpox. Africa CDC, Gavi, UNICEF, WHO, and partners are also prioritizing infection prevention and control, and risk communication and community engagement. As part of this, UNICEF is deploying personal protection equipment, diagnostic tests, medical treatment kits, hygiene supplies and tents to countries at the forefront of the crisis. These supplies support a host of medical countermeasures such as treatment, case isolation and surveillance.

UNICEF is the world’s largest single vaccine buyer, procuring more than 2 billion doses of vaccines annually for routine child immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has announced the signing of an agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide USD 7 million in support of critical humanitarian efforts in Sudan and South Sudan.

The agreement allocates USD 6 million for UNICEF’s operations in Sudan and USD 1 million for its activities in South Sudan, further solidifying the UAE’s commitment to alleviating the severe humanitarian crises in these countries.

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has escalated into a dire crisis that is impacting children, with an estimated 13.6 million children urgently needing assistance.

The conflict has forced over six million people, more than half of whom are children, to flee their homes, making Sudan the epicenter of the world’s largest child displacement crisis.

This contribution from the UAE will directly support UNICEF’s efforts to ensure that children and women in Sudan and South Sudan have access to primary health care, sufficient quality water, and education through both formal and non-formal channels, including early learning programs.

Her Excellency Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, said “The UAE is deeply committed to supporting the most vulnerable populations affected by conflict, particularly children who are bearing the brunt of the crisis in Sudan and South Sudan.

Through this agreement with UNICEF, we are reinforcing our dedication to providing life-saving assistance and ensuring that children have access to the essential services they desperately need.

The UAE will continue to stand by the brotherly Sudanese people in their time of need, working with international partners to address the urgent humanitarian challenges. This has most recently been illustrated by the UAE’s participation in the Sudan talks in Geneva as an observer, which aim to ensure the delivery of aid to those in need, especially to the most vulnerable.

In this regard, the UAE welcomes the movement of humanitarian actors and aid though the Adre Crossing.”

Over the past decade, the UAE has provided more than USD 3.5 billion in aid to the Sudanese people, underscoring its dedication to helping those in need during times of crisis. Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2023, the UAE has provided USD 230 million in humanitarian aid and dispatched 159 relief flights, delivering more than 10,000 tonnes of food, medical, and relief supplies.

Additionally, the UAE has built two field hospitals in Chad, which have provided medical treatment to more than 45,000 people.

Furthermore, the UAE continues to call for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing conflict and an urgent halt to violence as a main demand.

The country stresses that there is no military solution, and highlights the importance of the warring parties working towards finding a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue. To that end, the UAE will maintain its engagement with all relevant stakeholders and support any process that aims to set Sudan on a political path to reach a lasting settlement and achieve a national consensus for forming a government where civilians participate and lead.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs&International Cooperation.

In December 2013, the UN General Assembly declared the International Decade for People of African Descent to address issues of recognition, justice, and development.

The decade beginning in 2015 aimed to promote the rights of people of African descent, increase awareness of their cultural contributions, and strengthen legal frameworks to combat racial discrimination.

In 2021, 31 August was recognised as the international day.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Member States to declare a second international decade “to help to accelerate global efforts for true change.”

Addressing racism

Mr. Guterres noted how people of African descent have contributed to society through leadership and activism.

“Yet,” he said, “the intolerable legacies of enslavement and colonialism endure.”

“Systemic racism is rife and continues to mutate into new forms – including in new technologies, where algorithms can amplify discrimination,” he continued. The Secretary-General said the UN is prioritising eradicating the “scourge of racism and racial discrimination” and has established a new Anti-Racism Office that will address racism in the workplace

“We also need governments to take the lead – by advancing and implementing policies and laws to tackle systemic racism and ensure inclusion,” Mr. Guterres said.

He also said there is a need for reparatory justice to address slave crimes.

The UN chief calls for global efforts to build a world of equality, opportunity and justice for all.

Systemic and structural

UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts also called for an end to racism ahead of the International Day while recognising “that millions of people of African descent around the world continue to be victims of systemic and structural racism and racial discrimination.”

Like the Secretary-General, the experts call for a second International Decade for People of African Descent from 2025-2034 as “we are far from ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent, including eradication of all forms of discrimination against them.”

The next decade would need a stronger focus on recognition, justice and development while tackling challenges that directly affect people of African descent.

The experts said Member States should create and enforce human rights tools, strategies, and monitoring systems to address systemic racism and ensure the full protection and respect of the rights of people of African descent in the coming decade.

With the upcoming UN Summit of the Future in September and the 16th Conference of the Parties for biodiversity in October, experts are urging member states to use these important meetings as opportunities to address issues concerning people of African descent.

“The time for decisive action is now,” they said. “Let us seize these opportunities that can result in meaningful change for people of African descent and the whole of humanity.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.