Media Update-2: United Nations Pakistan, 28 July 2020

PRESS RELEASE

The Government of Pakistan, UNICEF and WHO encourage people to adhere to SoPs and reinforce preventive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19

 

ISLAMABAD, 28 July 2020 – Today the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (MoNHSRC), UNICEF and WHO called on the public to reinforce adherence to COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures and strictly enforce key preventive behaviours against the coronavirus.

Chaired by Dr. Zafar Mirza, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Health, the public online event highlighted that everyone in Pakistan has a role to play to protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus. The goal is to avoid a repetition of the spike in coronavirus transmission which followed Eid ul Fitr in May by strictly observing the standard operating procedures against the pandemic, as flagged by Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday.

“We are at a critical juncture of the current pandemic, witnessing a significant decrease in the number of cases, and no way can afford slackness or complacence, as was observed during Eidul-Fitr days”, said Dr. Zafar Mirza.

Not only has the COVID-19 outbreak impacted people’s lives and health across the country, but it has also adversely impacted the delivery of essential public services including heath, nutrition, education, water and sanitation.

“We are now at a crucial stage of our joint fight against the coronavirus, which Prime Minister Imran Khan and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr. Zafar Mirza have been leading since March, together with partners and dedicated front-line health workers” said Ms. Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “It is crucial that we all implement the few behaviours that are key to save lives and prevent the spread of the virus among our families and communities. The more we adhere to these behaviours, the sooner we will be able to resume a normal life and provide children and families with the essential services which they need, such as immunization against preventable diseases,  nutrition to keep at bay lifelong problems such as stunting and wasting, and education to help children and adolescents build their future and that of their communities.”

The Government of Pakistan is working to resume and sustain the provision of essential services with support from UNICEF and WHO across the country. Immunization against polio has already resumed in a number of high-risk districts.

“WHO appreciates the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to resume the provision of essential health care services in the context of COVID-19 with the support of all the partners, particularly WHO and UNICEF,” said Dr. Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan. “Immunization against polio and vaccine preventable diseases has already resumed in many districts successfully. WHO greatly admires the leadership of the Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Minister of Health Dr Zafar Mirza in fighting against COVID-19 epidemic in Pakistan.”

Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology; Muhammad Rizwan, international cricketeer; Dr. Naseem Akhtar, Focal person for COVID-19 at PIMS in Islamabad; and 15-year-old Areesha Fatima had recorded video messages played during the event, in which they called on people to mobilize against the virus and help save lives.

To protect themselves from the coronavirus, people need to:

· Avoid public gatherings

· Wear a mask when they leave their house, including when shopping at the market and if praying at the mosque

· Wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds, or with a sanitizer, regularly

· Refrain from touching their eyes, nose, mouth and ears with unwashed hands

· Stay at least six feet away from other people

· Stay at home in case they develop COVID-19 symptoms.

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For further information, please contact:

Sajid Shah, MoNHSRC, Sajidshahpro@gmail.com, Tel: +92 301 5103069

Arsalan Khalid, UNICEF Pakistan, arsalanksr@hotmail.com, Tel: +92 333 525 1175

Sami Malik, UNICEF Pakistan, asmalik@unicef.org, Tel: +92 300 855 6654

Maryam Yunus, WHO Pakistan, yunusm@who.int, Tel: +92 300 844 1744

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حکومتِ پاکستان، یونیسف اور عالمی ادارہ صحت  کی پاکستانی عوام سے عید الاضحیٰ منانے کے دوران کورونا وائرس کا پھیلاؤ روکنے میں معاون رویوں پر سختی سے عمل درآمد  کرنے کی درخواست

 

اسلام آباد، 28 جولائی 2020 – آج کے روز قومی وزارتِ صحت، یونیسف اور عالمی ادارہ صحت نے ایک اہم آن لائن اجلاس کے دوران لوگوں پر زور دیا کہ وہ عید الا ضحیٰ مناتے ہوئے کورونا وائرس کا پھیلاؤ روکنے کے لئے تجویز کردہ رویوں پر سختی سے عمل کریں تاکہ آنے والی عید محفوظ انداز میں منائی جاسکے۔

اجلاس کی صدارت وزیرِ اعظم پاکستان کے معاونِ خصوصی برائے صحت ڈاکٹر ظفر مرزا نے کی۔ اس آن لائن اجلاس میں اس بات پر زور دیا گیا کہ یہ پاکستان کے ہر فرد کا فرض ہے کہ وہ خود کو اور اپنے پیاروں کو کورونا وائرس سے بچانے کے لئے اپنا کردار ادا کرے۔ عید الاضحیٰ کے دنوں میں کورونا وائرس سے بچاؤ کا باعث بننے والے رویے اپنانے کا مقصد وزیر اعظم عمران کی طرف سے پیش کئے گئے معیاری عملی اقدامات (ایس او پیز) پر عمل درآمد کرتے ہوئے  وائرس کے پھیلاؤ کو ایک بار پھر اس نکتہ عروج تک پہنچنے سے روکنا ہے جس تک وہ عید الفطر کے بعد پہنچ گیا تھا۔

اس موقع پر بات کرتے ہوئے ڈاکٹر ظفر مرزا نے کہا’’  ہم اس وقت اس وبائی صورتِ حال سے جنگ کے ایک اہم مرحلے پر ہیں۔ اس وقت کیسز کی تعداد میں بہت حد تک کمی واقع ہوچکی ہے اور اس مرحلے پر ہم اُس غفلت اور کاہلی کے متحمل نہیں ہوسکتے جس کا تجربہ ہمیں عید الفطر کے دنوں میں ہوا تھا۔

نہ صرف کووڈ 19 کی وبا سے پیدا ہونے والے حالات نے ملک بھر میں لوگوں کی زندگیوں اور صحت کو بُری طرح متاثر کیا ہے بلکہ اس کی وجہ سے اہم خدمات کی فراہمی کے سلسلے پر بھی تباہ کن اثرات مرتب ہوئے ہیں۔  ان خدمات  میں صحت، غذا، تعلیم ، پانی اور صحت و صفائی جیسی بنیادی خدمات شامل ہیں۔

اس موقع پر بات کرتے ہوئے پاکستان میں یونیسف کی نمائندہ مس عائدہ گرما نے کہا، ’’ ہم اس وقت کورونا وائرس کے خلاف جنگ کے اہم ترین مرحلے میں داخل ہوچکے ہیں۔ اس جنگ میں مارچ کے مہینے سے ہماری قیادت وزیرِ اعظم پاکستان کے    معاون خصوصی برائے صحت ڈاکٹر ظفر مرزا اور ان کے اہم شراکت دار کررہے ہیں ۔ ان کے علاوہ خدمت کے لئے وقف ہیلتھ ورکرز کا ہراول دستہ بھی کلیدی کردار ادا کرنے میں مصروفِ عمل ہے‘‘۔

انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ ’’ اس وقت جب ہم میں سے ہر ایک اپنے پیاروں کے ساتھ عید الاضحیٰ منانے کی تیاریوں میں مصروف ہے ہم پر وہ رویے اپنانا لازم ہوجاتا ہے جن کی مدد سے ہم اپنے خاندان اور قرب و جوار کے لوگوں کی زندگیاں کورونا وائرس کا پھیلاؤ روک کر محفوظ بنا سکتے ہیں۔ ہم ان رویوں پر جس

قدر سختی سے عمل کریں گے ، اتنی ہی جلدی ہم معمول کی زندگی گذارنے کے قابل ہوکر اپنے بچوں اور خاندانوں کو وہ تمام ضروری خدمات فراہم کرسکیں گے جن کی انہیں بے حد ضرورت ہے۔ ان خدمات

میں قابلِ انسداد بیماریوں سے بچاؤ کے لئے ویکسین دینا، غذائی خدمات کے ذریعے نشو و نما کی کمی کا شکار ہونے والے بچوں کو بچانا اور بچوں و نو بالغوں کو تعلیم کی مدد سے اپنا مستقبل تشکیل دینے کے قابل بناکر لوگوں کا معیارِ زندگی بہتر بنانا شامل ہیں‘‘۔

حکومتِ پاکستان یونیسف اور عالمی ادارہ صحت کے تعاون سے ملک بھر میں ان ضروری خدمات کے فراہمی کے آغاز اور ان کا تسلسل برقرار رکھنے کے عمل کو یقینی بنانے کے سلسلے میں مصروفِ عمل ہے۔ پولیو کے زیادہ خطرات کا سامنا کرنے والے اضلاع میں پولیو کے خاتمے کے لئے ویکسین پلانے کے سلسلے کا آغاز پہلے ہی ہوچکا ہے۔

پاکستان میں عالمی ادارہ صحت کی نمائندہ ڈاکٹر پالیثا گورنارتھنا ماہیپالا نے اس موقع پر  حکومتِ پاکستان کی کاوشوں کو سراہتے ہوئے کہا کہ عالمی ادارہ صحت پاکستان کی کوششوں کو سراہتا ہے کہ کووڈ 19 کے تناظر میں حکومتِ پاکستان نے اپنے شراکت داروں خاص طور پر عالمی ادارہ صحت اور یونیسف کے ساتھ مل کر ملک بھر میں صحت کی ضروری خدمات کی فراہمی کا آغاز کردیا ہے۔  پاکستان کے کئی اضلاع میں پولیو سے بچاؤ کی ویکسین پلانے کا سلسلہ ایک بار پھر کامیابی سے شروع ہوچکا ہے۔ عالمی ادارہ صحت وزیر اعظم پاکستان اور ڈاکٹر ظفر مرزا کی قیادت کو کووڈ 19 کی وبا کے دنوں میں کورونا وائرس سے جنگ کے عمل کو سراہتا ہے‘‘۔

اسلامی نظریاتی کونسل کے چئیرمین ڈاکٹر قبلہ ایاز، بین الاقوامی کرکٹ کے کھلاڑی محمد رضوان، پمز اسلام آباد میں کووڈ 19 کے فوکل پرسن ڈاکٹر نسیم اور 15 سالہ عریشہ فاطمہ نے اس موقع پر ویڈیو پیغامات ریکارڈ کئے۔ یہ پیغامات اس دوران چلائے گئے جن میں لوگوں سے درخواست کی گئی کہ وہ وائرس کے خلاف متحرک ہوکر لوگوں کی زندگیاں بچانے میں اپنا کردار ادا کریں۔ 

اپنے آپ کو کورونا وائرس سے بچانے کے لئے لوگوں کو چاہیے کہ وہ:

· عوامی اجتماعات سے دُور رہیں 

· خریداری اور حتیٰ کہ مسجد کے لئے گھر سے نکلتے وقت ماسک پہن کر نکلیں

· اپنے ہاتھ باقاعدگی سے صابن اور صاف پانی سے 20 سیکنڈز تک دھوئیں یا پھر  ہاتھوں کو جراثیم سے پاک کرنے والا محلول استعمال کریں۔

· ہاتھوں کو دھوئے اور جراثیم سے پاک کئے بغیر اپنی آنکھوں، ناک، منہ اور کانوں کو چھونے سے گریز کریں۔

· دوسرے لوگوں سے کم از کم چھ فٹ کے فاصلے پر رہیں۔

· اگر ان میں کووڈ 19 کی علامات ظاہر ہوں تو اپنے گھر تک محدود رہیں۔

 

مزید معلومات کے لئے رابطہ کریں:

Mr. Sajid Shah

Public relations Officer

MoNHSRC

+92 301 5103069

Sajidshahpro@gmail.com

 

ارسلان خالد، یونیسف پاکستان

ای میل: arsalanksr@hotmail.com

فون: 0333 525 1175

 

اے سمیع ملک، یونیسف پاکستان،

ای میل: asmalik@unicef.org

فون: 0300 855 6654

 

مریم یونس، عالمی ادارہ صحت پاکستان

ای میل: yunusm@who.int

فون: 0300 844 1744

 

 

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United Nations

PRESS RELEASE

 Young leaders tapped to invigorate UN’s climate action plans, hold leaders to account

 Seven young climate activists to take formal seat at UN table in Secretary-General’s new Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change

NEW YORK, 27 July— The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the names of seven young climate leaders – between the ages of 18 and 28 years old – who will advise him regularly on accelerating global action and ambition to tackle the worsening climate crisis.

The announcement marks a new effort by the United Nations to bring more young leaders into decision-making and planning processes, as the UN works to mobilize climate action as part of the COVID-19 recovery efforts.

“We are in a climate emergency. We do not have the luxury of time,” the Secretary-General said in a video announcing the establishment of the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. “We need urgent action now -- to recover better from COVID-19, to confront injustice and inequality and address climate disruption.”

“We have seen young people on the front lines of climate action, showing us what bold leadership looks like,” he added. “That is why I am launching my Youth Advisory Group on climate change today -- to provide perspectives, ideas and solutions that will help us scale up climate action.”

The members of the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change represent the diverse voices of young people from all regions as well as small island states.  They will offer perspectives and solutions on climate change, from science to community mobilization, from entrepreneurship to politics, and from industry to conservation.

The newly selected members of the Group, ranging from 18-28 years old, are:

Nisreen Elsaim (Sudan) is a climate activist and junior negotiator at intergovernmental climate change platforms  with experience across a range of environmental topics, and she was part of the social movement that brought about democratic change in Sudan.

Ernest Gibson (Fiji) is the co-coordinator for 350 Fiji, a regional youth-led climate change network, driven by young climate leaders.

Vladislav Kaim, (Moldova) is a young economist committed to ensuring green and decent jobs for youth, and he brings deep expertise in international trade and migration.

Sophia Kianni (United States) has helped organize nationwide strikes and has built a network of non-profits as part of the Zero Hour National Partnerships Team.

Nathan Metenier (France) is the political director at the ‘Jeunes Ambassadeurs pour le Climat’, where he helped develop the French youth climate coalition.

Paloma Costa Oliveira (Brazil) is a lawyer and human rights defender who has coordinated the youth delegations to several climate conferences.

Archana Soreng (India) is experienced in advocacy and research, and she is working to document, preserve, and promote traditional knowledge and cultural practices of indigenous communities.

The initial seven members of the Group have been chosen to give frank and fearless advice to the Secretary-General, at a time of growing urgency to hold government and corporate leaders to account on climate action.

“Our ancestors have been protecting the forest and nature over the ages through their traditional knowledge and practices. Now it is on us to be the front runners in combating the climate crisis,” Ms Soreng said.

“The climate emergency is a threat to life, and taking climate action is the only way to free our future,” Ms Oliveira said.

“Climate action is not just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is also about: creating green jobs in a post-COVID world, preserving our health and biodiversity and protecting the poorest and most marginalised communities,” Mr Metenier said.

“As an Iranian-American, I have witnessed first hand the devastating effect climate change is having on the Middle East. It is crucial for world leaders to stand as a united front as we work to combat the climate crisis and racial injustice,” Ms Kianni said.

“Taking climate action means contributing in the most direct way possible to the great reset of global economic order, an order in which nature will reconquer its rightful place as the main safe tangible asset that will never become stranded,” Mr Kaim said.

“Climate action matters because the story I want to tell my children is of how we took on the biggest challenge the world has ever seen and we won! We won for them,” Mr Gibson said.

“Taking the right action is the greatest motivation. Keeping up our work is the only solution, and doesn't need a second thought.  With every challenge there are many opportunities, but we must do it together,” Ms Elsaim said.

The establishment of the Group builds on last year’s successful Youth Climate Summit – the first time a Secretary-General has convened a summit for young people entirely devoted to climate action. The Summit brought over 1,000 young climate champions together from more than 140 countries to share their solutions on the global stage and deliver a clear message to world leaders: we must act now to confront the climate crisis. The initiative is also aligned with the Secretary-General’s vision for the UN Youth Strategy, launched in September 2018.

For more information, please contact: Matthew Coghlan, UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Team, email matthew.coghlan@un.org; Dan Shepard of the UN Department of Global Communications, email shepard@un.org

 

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THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

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VIDEO MESSAGE FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE POLICY BRIEF

“COVID-19 IN AN URBAN WORLD”

28 July 2020

 

Urban areas are ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 90 per cent of reported cases.

Cities are bearing the brunt of the crisis – many with strained health systems, inadequate water and sanitation services, and other challenges.

This is especially the case in poorer areas, where the pandemic has exposed deeply rooted inequalities.

But cities are also home to extraordinary solidarity and resilience.

Strangers helping each other, streets cheering in support of essential workers, local businesses donating life-saving supplies. 

We have seen the best of the human spirit on display.

As we respond to the pandemic and work towards recovery, we look to our cities as hubs of community, human innovation and ingenuity.

Today, we have an opportunity to reflect and reset how we live, interact and rebuild our cities.

That is why we are launching a “Policy Brief on COVID-19 in the Urban World”.

It offers three key recommendations.

First, we need to ensure that all phases of the pandemic response tackle inequalities and long-term development deficits and safeguard social cohesion.

We must prioritise those who are the most vulnerable in our cities, including guaranteeing safe shelter for all and emergency housing to those without homes.

Access to water and sanitation is also vital.

The inadequate state of public services in many cities requires urgent attention, particularly in informal settlements.

Nearly one-quarter of the world’s urban population lives in slums.

Local governments are already taking action – from prohibiting evictions during the crisis to putting in place new clean water stations in the most vulnerable areas.

Second, we must strengthen the capacities of local governments.

This requires decisive action – and deeper cooperation between local and national authorities.

Stimulus packages and other relief should support tailored responses and boost local government capacity.

 Third, we must pursue a green, resilient and inclusive economic recovery.

Many cities have created new bike lanes and pedestrian zones, reclaiming public spaces and improving mobility, safety and air quality.

By focusing on high ecological transformation and job creation, stimulus packages can steer growth towards a low-carbon, resilient pathway and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

 The rapid adoption of telecommuting illustrates how societies can transform seemingly overnight to confront urgent threats.

We must act with the same urgency and resolve to transform cities and address the climate and pollution crises.

Now is the time to rethink and reshape the urban world.

Now is the moment to adapt to the reality of this and future pandemics.

And now is our chance to recover better, by building more resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities.

Thank you.

 Video Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads2.unmultimedia.org/public/video/ondemand/MSG+SG+POLICY+CITIES+CLEAN.mp4