The biggest setback in vaccination rates in 30 years endangers millions of children, especially in developing countries, they warn UNICEF and the WHO.
In 2021, some 25 million children did not receive vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) -which is used as a marker of immunization coverage. Of these, 18 million did not receive a single dose.
The decline is due to many factors, including an increase in the number of children living in fragile and conflict settings; misinformation and problems related to the COVID-19such as service and supply chain disruptions and the diversion of resources to pandemic response and containment measures.
Coverage of the first dose of measles fell to 81% in 2021, the lowest level since 2008; and 3.5 million children did not receive the first dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine.
Kate O’Brien is the director of vaccination for the World Health Organization.
“The pandemic is not over, we need to sustain and maintain the momentum through vaccination. But we also need to ensure that vaccination against measles, HPV, pneumonia and diarrhea gets back on track urgently. That means catching up to millions of children who have not been vaccinated in 2020 and 2021. It also means bringing back immunization programs and maintaining that essential immunization trajectory,” he explained.
Guterres condemns the missile attack in Vinnytsia, Ukraine
UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova
A woman in eastern Ukraine lights a fire
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The death toll from the missile attack on the city of Vinnytsia, in Ukraineamounts to 23, with three children among the deceased.
“The General secretary condemns any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure and reiterates its call for accountability for these violations,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.
More than ten people are still missing. and according to the Ukrainian authorities, 400 rescuers are still searching for survivors in the rubble.
WHO has donated trauma kits to hospitals. Refugee and migrant agencies are providing emergency shelter and psychological support.
The Humanitarian Aid Coordination Office has requested $226 million to begin preparations to help Ukrainians weather the winter. An estimated 15.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 7.1 million internally displaced persons.
Unsplash/Ashley Ross
Inside a prison. (file photo)
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Uruguay must end decades of impunity for disappearances by intensifying the search and bringing the perpetrators to justice, a group of UN experts said after their official visit to the country.
When submitting your preliminary remarksthe UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances highlighted that, to date, an exhaustive exercise of clarifying and reconstructing the truth has not been carried out.
“It is imperative that the State assumes its responsibility, and immediately reverses the lack of progress in the search for disappeared persons over more than five decades,” they said.
The experts applauded “the courage and tireless struggle of the victims, their families and their representatives to find the disappeared persons” and highlighted their “tireless work” to generate a social consensus that recognizes and rejects the crimes of the dictatorship. However, they lamented the existence of a possible change in the narrative, including initiatives aimed at diluting responsibility for the crimes committed by the State.
The Working Group also drew attention to the disappearances of children and adolescents after their stay in state protection centers; as well as the disappearances of women, possibly related to situations of sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Michelle Bachelet will visit Peru to assess the human rights situation
World Bank/Franz Mahr
Aerial view of Lima, Peru.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will visit Peru from August 18 to 20.
Michelle Bachelet will meet, among others, with high authorities from the executive, legislative and judicial branches, representatives of civil society and indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, the private sector and members of the international community.
The High Commissioner will offer a press conference in Lima at the end of her mission, on Wednesday, July 20, at 10:30 local time.
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