Weekly roundup: Top international development headlines

Time is now to ‘act as one’ in fighting infectious coronavirus, UN humanitarian chief calls for a stop in fighting and the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:

UN health agency: Time is now to ‘act as one’ in fighting infectious coronavirus

Following confirmed cases of the Novel coronavirus in Europe, the United Nations health agency released a statement on the need for the international community to work together as one to combat the infectious disease.

The evolving outbreak that began in China is “a sign that every country needs to be ready to timely detect and manage outbreaks of any type”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Virus infections have now been reported on four continents, including in Australia, France and the United States, among recent travelers to China. Several other countries in Asia have reported cases as well.

On January 24, France officially notified the WHO Regional Office for Europe of three confirmed cases – two in Paris and one in Bordeaux. All of them had travelled from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, and are now hospitalized in France.

“Timely action is fundamental for early containment”, underscored WHO, commending France for quickly notifying WHO and rapidly issuing a public communication, saying that it not only exemplified the proper steps forward but also illustrated “an example of global collaboration and solidarity”.

WHO maintained that the first confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Europe were not unexpected.

Syria: UN humanitarian chief calls for stop in fighting

In a briefing to the United Nations Security Council, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock expressed alarm about the deteriorating humanitarian situation affecting women and children, in particular in the north-west of the country, and called on all parties to stop the fighting and facilitate access for humanitarian workers and supplies to address civilians’ essential needs.

Underscoring that hostilities have escalated in recent days in the Idleb area, especially around Ma’arat al-Numan, Saraqeb and western Aleppo, the humanitarian chief noted that the most alarming reports have come from southern Idleb, where hundreds of airstrikes by the Government of Syria and its allies have been concentrated.

“The violence in north-west Syria is deplorable. Many families are moving multiple times. They arrive in a place thought to be safe, only for the bombs to follow, so they are then forced to move again. This cycle is all too familiar in north-west Syria,” said Mr. Lowcock in his statement.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute obtains license for continued development of tuberculosis vaccine candidate

The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) announced that GSK has licensed its M72/AS01E tuberculosis disease (TB) vaccine candidate to the Gates MRI, paving the way for continued development and potential use of the vaccine candidate in countries with high TB burdens.

“Clinical trial results to date suggest that the M72/AS01E vaccine candidate could play a significant role in protecting vulnerable populations around the world from developing active TB. If that proves true, it could transform the fight against humanity’s deadliest infectious disease,” said Penny M. Heaton, M.D., CEO of Gates MRI.

TB is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, with 10 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths in 2018 alone. The burden of disease is concentrated with over 97% of reported TB cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

Here’s what else has happened

IFC: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Mayor’s Office of the city of Kryvyi Rih agreed to combine efforts to attract investments for reliable and efficient public transport infrastructure. This is part of IFC’s broader strategy to accelerate economic growth in Ukraine.

ADFD: Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the leading national entity for economic development aid, confirmed the delivery of the second shipment of educational supplies and classroom equipment to Sudan, to cover the needs of 240,000 students.

United Nations: In a briefing to the Security Council, Secretary-General António Guterres underlined the value of cooperation between the UN and the 10-member regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

WFP: In 2019, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received US$419 million in flexible funding, representing 5 percent of WFP’s total contributions – well below the high-watermark of 19 percent in 2002.

Reports

NIB Environmental Bond Report 2019

In 2019, NIB issued its first SEK 2 billion Nordic-Baltic Blue Bond to address water-related challenges in its member countries. In addition, a EUR 500 million Environmental Bond was also issued.

“Throughout the year, NIB remained engaged in several initiatives and innovations promoting sustainable finance,” says Lars Eibeholm, NIB’s Head of Treasury.

Read and download the report: NIB Environmental Bond Report 2019.

How the UN Climate Change process has helped build resilience over the past 25 years

The network of institutions created during the last 25 years and the growth of adaptation-related initiatives under the UN climate change process has helped stimulate significant on-the-ground action to build resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change around the globe.

This is the key conclusion of a report entitled 25 Years of Adaptation Under the UNFCCC, which offers an overview of the adaptation architecture under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process and how it has evolved since 1994, the year the Convention entered into force. The report was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid last December by the Adaptation Committee.

Read and download the report: 25 Years of Adaptation Under the UNFCCC

Events

Dresden Nexus Conference 2020 (DNC2020)

Dresden, Germany
3-5 June 2020

The Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC) is an international conference series dedicated to advancing research and the implementation of a Nexus Approach to resource management.

The theme of the third DNC is “Circular Economy in a Sustainable Society”. With this theme, DNC2020 envisions to promote the resource perspective of waste in a circular economy with an emphasis on the social dimension. It is interesting to note that both nexus and circular economy concepts were born in the 1980s. However, the correlation of the two concepts was not noticed until nexus thinking began to incorporate the role of waste in the past few years.

Siracusa Institute’s 5th Specialisation Course for Prosecutors on International Criminal Justice and International Cooperation in Criminal Matters

Siracusa, Italy
29 June – 8 July 2020

The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (Siracusa Institute) and the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) are co-organizing the 5th Specialisation Course for Prosecutors on International Criminal Justice, Transnational Crime and International Cooperation in Criminal Matters. This course is specially designed for prosecutors to gain expertise from leading legal experts in matters relating to the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide as well as transnational crimes including, among others, environmental crime, human trafficking and crimes enabled by new technologies.

Sustainable Summits 2020 Nepal (SS2020)

Kathmandu, Nepal
1-5 June 2020

5th international conference sharing solutions for protecting and preserving the world’s mountain regions. The Sustainable Summits Conferences are inspired by the growing pressures on our mountain environments, the need to find solutions to the impacts of such pressures – overcrowding, waste, noise and more – and a drive to uphold values in sustaining these environments.