"WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO"

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Ghebreyesus today said that as the world enters the fourth month since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he is deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection. WHO

WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said his message to G20 leaders was threefold: fight to stop the virus “with every resource at our disposal,” unite to confront the pandemic together, and “ignite the industrial might and innovation of the G20 to produce and distribute the tools needed to save lives.” WHO

Answering questions from journalists via videoconference, the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, highlighted the need to flag to authorities where elderly people live, “ensuring they're getting the help they need, and they are not simply abandoned.” OHCHR

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed concern over “the potential impact of the virus on millions of people across Syria, and particularly the over 900,000 people who remain displaced due to hostilities since December 1st in the country’s northwest.” UNIFEED

At a joint virtual press briefing, Secretary-General António Guterres, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore and World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, launch a $2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan, to fight COVID-19 in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries in a bid to protect the millions most at risk.

To confront the unprecedented worldwide challenge posed by the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, top UN officials on Wednesday, launched a massive humanitarian appeal to mitigate its impact, particularly on fragile countries with weak health systems. UNIFEED

“The last thing any country needs is to open schools and businesses only to be forced to close them again because of a resurgence,” WHO’s chief Dr Tedros said at a press conference Wednesday, calling on all countries “who have introduced so called lockdown measures, to use this time to attack the virus.” WHO

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on governments to take urgent action to protect the health and safety of people in detention and other closed facilities, as part of overall efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. UNTV CH

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the head of the International Olympic Committee and the Prime Minister of Japan have decided to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics "to safeguard the health of the athletes and everybody involved in the Olympic Games." IOC