Local Govt Forum

10 May 2020 Author: Belinda Townsend, ANU As of  10 May  over four million COVID-19 cases had been reported worldwide, with 280,000 confirmed deaths. The pandemic has highlighted the need for strong national health systems and regional infectious disease monitoring. Rising global health tensions urge the need for governments to prioritise international mechanisms that promote affordable access to new treatments and vaccines. As China reports fewer cases of COVID-19, it is  seeking to portray  itself as a global health leader by supplying medical experts, equipment and resources overseas. Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed China’s ambition for a ‘ Health Silk Road ’ with partner countries of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On  21 March  China sent 100,000 medical masks and 776 protective suits to Spain via existing BRI railway infrastructure. China’s Health Silk Road has its origins in a 2015  three-year plan  for health cooperation as ...

15 May 2020 Author: Anil Paudel, Right4Children Nepal’s  2015 Constitution  guarantees education as a fundamental right to all citizens, with free and compulsory basic education and free education up to the secondary level. The  2018 Act  Relating to Compulsory and Free Education translates the constitutional provision into practice. Education is among Nepal’s top policy priorities — it accounts for around  15 per cent  of the annual national budget — but the current system is lagging behind these lofty goals. Over half of total education spending funds basic education — from pre-primary to eighth-grade — and about a quarter is spent on secondary education — ninth-grade to 12th-grade. Around 8 per cent supports tertiary education and the lowest share of the education budget — 3.0 to 3.5 per cent — is spent on technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Achieving universal basic education is the main priority of the Nepalese government, with its ...

© UNICEF/Kaliyev A 9-year-old girl eats lunch at a primary school in Turkestan city, Kazakhstan.         29 April 2020 Culture and Education With classrooms closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two UN agencies are urging governments to act now to shore up the futures of the 370 million children worldwide who depend on school meals. The World Food Programme ( WFP ) and the UN Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) fear these young lives will suffer devastating nutritional and health consequences as a result of the crisis. World Food Programme ✔ @WFP During # COVID19 school closures, the world's most vulnerable children are missing out on more than education. For millions of children in fragile countries, school is a place of safety , the promise of a daily meal , as well as access to health and nutrition. 95 9:34 AM - Apr 29, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 71 people are talking about this “For millions of children around the world, the meal they get at school is the only meal...

UN Photo/Evan Schneider The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan displays a message of hope as the coronavirus continues to kill people in New York City.         29 April 2020 Health International health experts will convene on Thursday to evaluate the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and advise on updated recommendations, the head of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) said on Wednesday during his latest virtual press conference from Geneva. WHO  chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that the Emergency Committee meeting will mark three months since members agreed that the new  coronavirus  disease was  an international global health emergency . “In the three months since the Emergency Committee last met, WHO has worked day in, day out to sound the alarm, support countries and save lives”, he  said . The Emergency Committee consists of 15 independent experts from across the world brought together under a treaty known as...

COVID-19 threatening global peace and security, UN chief warns Giles Clarke Nurses and healthcare workers outside at a hospital in New York City demand better protection against the COVID-19 virus.         10 April 2020 Peace and Security While the COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis, its implications are more far-reaching and could threaten global peace and security, the UN Secretary-General told members of the Security Council in a closed video-conference held on Thursday. António Guterres said heightened solidarity is needed if the world is to defeat the crisis, which he called the "gravest test since the founding of this Organization", with Governments already struggling to address rising unemployment and economic downturn. "But the pandemic also poses a significant threat to the maintenance of international peace and security -- potentially leading to an increase in social unrest and violence that would greatly undermine our ability to f...

UN health agency working on strategies to gradually lift COVID-19 restrictions UN Photo/Evan Schneider A wide view of Grand Central Terminal with an unusually sparse crowd during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in New York City.         10 April 2020 Health The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with countries on strategies to "gradually and safely" ease stay-at-home restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus, agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists on Friday, though he cautioned against any sudden action. " WHO  wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone", he  said . "At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly". Tedros laid out six factors for consideration, which include that transmission is controlled and sufficient public health and medical services are available.