UN Foundation President Timothy E. Wirth issued a statement on the draft United Nations General Assembly resolution that condemns deniers of the Holocaust:
"The United Nations Foundation welcomes the international effort to reaffirm the tragedy of the Holocaust. Neither the horror of the Holocaust nor the shining example set for international cooperation in response to it should ever be forgotten."
Read Wirth's full statement here.
In any given year, the number of measles related deaths in the United States can be counted on a single hand. But throughout much of the developing world hundreds of thousands of people, mostly children under five, still die each year from measles.
In response to this often overlooked public health threat, a coalition of American and international organizations (including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Red Cross, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Foundation) teamed up in 2000 to form the Measles Initiative. The goal: cutting measles deaths by 50% in 2005 and 90% by 2010.
This week, a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet confirmed that that the Measles Initiative in fact exceeded its interim goal, and have cut worldwide measles deaths by 60% from 1999 to 2005.
From The Lancet (registration required):
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) announced its plans yesterday to expand their efforts in delivering immunization and preventative treatments using a multi-disease strategy.
Noting the 60 percent reduction in measles death over the past six years and the related health gains, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said, "Increasingly, this initiative is delivering a bundle of life-saving and health-promoting interventions: bed nets for malaria, vitamin A to boost the immune system, de-worming tablets that help keep children in school, polio vaccine, and tetanus vaccine for pregnant women." More
Related: Dont forget to check out Nothing But Nets, which partners with the Measles Initiative.
Contributed by Gwendolyn Beetham, Gender Consultant, Department of Peacekeeping Operations
It's that time of the year...the 37th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is being held at UN Headquarters in New York. In this session, delegates from 15 of the 185 countries party to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) get to talk about the "appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures" that they have put in place in compliance with CEDAW, "so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms." Experts get to ask questions. The country delegates respond. It's fun.
In this session, running from the 15th of January to the 2nd of February, countries reporting include: Austria, Azerbaijan, Columbia, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Namibia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Suriname, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.
A run down of what's happened so far after the jump.
The New Orleans Saints may have lost their chance yesterday to play in Super Bowl XLI, but the Saints' star running back Reggie Bush will still make a Super Bowl appearance in this ad for the United Nations World Food Program.
As reported yesterday, while in Washington this week Ban Ki-moon asked Congressional leaders to lift the so-called "peacekeeping cap" that Congress imposed on US contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget back in 2000. Since then, the US has been assessed at a rate higher than what it pays, resulting in constant budget shortfalls at the UN.
This is a long and complicated saga, but here's the elevator pitch version: