Latest news with #CatherineRussell
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Health
- New Straits Times
UN agencies: Aid cuts threaten fragile progress in child vaccination
GLOBAL infant vaccination levels have stabilised after shrinking during the Covid crisis according to the UN, but it warned that misinformation and drastic aid cuts were deepening dangerous coverage gaps and putting millions at risk. In 2024, 85 per cent of infants globally, or 109 million, had received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP), with the third dose serving as a key marker for global immunisation coverage, according to data published by the UN health and children's agencies. That marked an increase of one percentage point and a million more children covered than a year earlier, in what the agencies described as "modest" gains. At the same time, nearly 20 million infants missed at least one of their DTP doses last year, including 14.3 million so-called "zero-dose" children who never received a single shot. While a slight improvement over 2023, when the United Nations said there were 14.5 million zero-dose children, it was 1.4 million more than in 2019 — before the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc on global vaccination programmes. "The good news is that we have managed to reach more children with life-saving vaccines," Unicef chief Catherine Russell said in a joint statement. "But millions of children remain without protection against preventable diseases. "That should worry us all." The World Health Organisation, meanwhile, warned that the planet was "off track" for reaching its goal of ensuring that 90 per cent of the world's children and adolescents receive essential vaccines by 2030. "Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress," warned WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Vaccine access remains deeply unequal, with widespread conflicts eroding efforts to boost vaccine coverage. Dramatic cuts to international aid by the United States in particular, but also by other countries, could further worsen the situation. While lack of access was the main cause of low coverage globally, the agencies also highlighted the threat of misinformation.
L'Orient-Le Jour
6 days ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Paramilitary shelling on camp kills 8 in Darfur
Paramilitary forces shelled a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, killing eight civilians and injuring others, a local rescue group said. The bombardment hit Abu Shouk camp, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people on the outskirts of al-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur. Al-Fasher remains the last major stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region not under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023. "The Abu Shouk camp witnessed heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF... killing eight people," the camp's Emergency Response Room said in a statement. In recent weeks, al-Fasher, which has been under paramilitary siege since last year, has been locked in intense fighting between warring sides in a region also gripped by famine. Thursday's offensive comes just days after a series of attacks by the RSF targeted another battleground region of Sudan. More than 450 people, including 35 children, were killed in several villages of North Kordofan, southwest of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement released this week by the U.N.'s children's agency. "No child should ever experience such horrors," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now." On Sunday, the RSF claimed to have killed more than 470 army personnel near the town of al-Obeid, also in North Kordofan, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel. Independent verification of casualties in Sudan remains difficult due to restricted access to its conflict zones. Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement crisis. In December last year, famine was officially declared in three displacement camps near El-Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk and al-Salam, according to the U.N. Since the Sudanese army regained control of the capital Khartoum in March, the RSF has shifted its operations westward, focusing on Darfur and Kordofan in a bid to consolidate territorial gains. In April, RSF fighters seized the Zamzam displacement camp, located near Abu Shouk. The assault forced nearly 400,000 people to flee, according to U.N. figures, effectively emptying one of the country's largest camps for the displaced. Sudanese analyst Mohaned al-Nour told AFP the RSF aims to redefine its role in the conflict. "Their goal is no longer to be seen as a militia, but as an alternative government in western Sudan, undermining the legitimacy of the authorities in Port Sudan." He added that the recent surge in violence in North Kordofan was likely intended to divert the army's attention from al-Fasher, where the military is trying "at all costs" to maintain.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Paramilitary shelling on camp kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur: rescuers
PORT SUDAN: Paramilitary forces shelled a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, killing eight civilians and injuring others, a local rescue group said. The bombardment hit Abu Shouk camp, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people on the outskirts of El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur. El-Fasher remains the last major stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region not under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023. 'The Abu Shouk camp witnessed heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF... killing eight people,' the camp's Emergency Response Room said in a statement. In recent weeks, El-Fasher, which has been under paramilitary siege since last year, has been locked in intense fighting between warring sides in a region also gripped by famine. Thursday's offensive comes just days after a series of attacks by the RSF targeted another battleground region of Sudan. More than 450 people, including 35 children, were killed in several villages of North Kordofan, southwest of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement released this week by the UN's children agency. 'No child should ever experience such horrors,' said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. 'Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now.' On Sunday, the RSF claimed to have killed more than 470 army personnel near the town of El-Obeid, also in North Kordofan, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel. Independent verification of casualties in Sudan remains difficult due to restricted access to its conflict zones. Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement crisis. In December last year, famine was officially declared in three displacement camps near El-Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam, according to the UN. Since the Sudanese army regained control of the capital Khartoum in March, the RSF has shifted its operations westward, focusing on Darfur and Kordofan in a bid to consolidate territorial gains. In April, RSF fighters seized the Zamzam displacement camp, located near Abu Shouk. The assault forced nearly 400,000 people to flee, according to UN figures, effectively emptying one of the country's largest camps for the displaced. Sudanese analyst Mohaned el-Nour told AFP the RSF aims to redefine its role in the conflict. 'Their goal is no longer to be seen as a militia, but as an alternative government in western Sudan, undermining the legitimacy of the authorities in Port Sudan.' He added that the recent surge in violence in North Kordofan was likely intended to divert the army's attention from El Fasher, where the military is trying 'at all costs' to maintain.
Euronews
7 days ago
- Health
- Euronews
An average of 28 kids die daily in Gaza, UNICEF tells Security Council
An average of 28 children are killed daily in Gaza, and more than 17,000 kids have reportedly been killed in the ongoing war in the besieged Palestinian enclave, UNICEF said Wednesday. Speaking before the UN Security Council, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said each of Gaza's one million children has faced immense suffering. According to Russell, these children will face lifelong impacts. 'Over the past 21 months of war, more than 17,000 children have reportedly been killed and 33,000 injured in Gaza. An average of 28 children have been killed each day, the equivalent of an entire classroom," she said. "Consider that for a moment: a whole classroom of children killed every day for nearly two years. These children are not combatants – they are being killed and maimed as they line up for lifesaving food and medicine.' In Israel's response to recent reports of its strikes in Gaza killing dozens of children, the Israeli military maintained it remained 'committed to the rule of law.' According to the Israel Defence Force, a 10 July attack that killed at least 10 children waiting to receive nutritional supplements at a Project Hope-run medical clinic in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, was caused by a "technical error." The strike targeting an Islamic Jihad "terrorist" caused the munition to fall dozens of metres from the target, it said. The incident is under review, the military added. Increasing deaths come amid food shortages The growing number of deaths of children, women, and civilians in strikes on Gaza. The number comes amid food supplies running out. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the Security Council on Wednesday that civilians are being shot while seeking something to eat. "Civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, and stripped of dignity,' Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council, emphasising Israel's obligation under the Geneva Conventions to provide food and medical aid as the occupying power in Gaza. He also challenged the council to consider whether Israel's rules of engagement incorporate all the precautions to avoid and minimise civilian casualties. Meanwhile, at least twenty Palestinians were killed at a food distribution in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, mostly from a stampede. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation accused the Hamas militant group of fomenting unrest at the food distribution centre, causing the stampede. They were the first deaths reported at one of the food distribution centres run by an Israeli-backed American organisation, though hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces on the roads leading to them, according to witnesses and health officials.
Arab News
7 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Starvation among kids in Gaza reaches record levels, humanitarian chiefs tell UN Security Council
NEW YORK: Children in Gaza are suffering from the worst starvation rates since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023, aid officials told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, in a devastating assessment of the conditions young Palestinians in the territory face as they try to survive. 'Starvation rates among children hit their highest levels in June, with over 5,800 girls and boys diagnosed as acutely malnourished,' said the UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher. Israel imposed an 11-week blockade on humanitarian aid earlier this year, and has only allowed a trickle of relief supplies to enter the territory since the end of May. The effects on the health of children have been catastrophic, according to the details presented to members of the Security Council. Levels of acute malnutrition have nearly tripled since February, just before the total blockade on aid was imposed. 'Children in Gaza are enduring catastrophic living conditions, including severe food insecurity and malnutrition,' UNICEF's executive director, Catherine Russell, told the council. 'These severely malnourished children need consistent, supervised treatment, along with safe water and medical care, to survive.' We're failing Gaza's children. Seen through their eyes, our failure is a betrayal of their right to be children. History will judge this harshly. So will the children. We call for a ceasefire in Gaza, protection of children and release of all hostages. — Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) July 16, 2025 Yet youngsters in the territory are being killed and maimed as they queue for lifesaving food and medicine, she added. Last week, nine children were among 15 Palestinians killed by an Israeli strike in Deir Al-Balah while they waited in line for nutritional supplies from UNICEF. 'Among the survivors was Donia, a mother seeking a lifeline for her family after months of desperation and hunger,' Russell said. 'Donia's 1-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed in the attack after speaking his first words just hours earlier. When we spoke with Donia, she was lying critically injured in a hospital bed, clutching Mohammed's tiny shoe.' Russell painted a bleak picture of desperation for the 1 million Palestinian children in the territory, where more than 58,000 people have been killed during the 21 months of war. Among the dead are 17,000 children — an average of 28 each day, the equivalent of 'a whole classroom of children killed every day for nearly two years,' Russell said. Youngsters also struggle to find clean water supplies, she added, and are therefore forced to drink contaminated water, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks; waterborne diseases now represent 44 per cent of all healthcare consultations. 'Thousands of children urgently need emergency medical support,' Russell said, and many of those suffering from traumatic injuries or severe preexisting medical conditions are at risk of death because medical care is unavailable. She repeated calls from other UN officials for Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza 'at sufficient speed and scale to meet the urgent needs of children and families.' A new aid-distribution system, introduced and run by Israel and the US, has sidelined traditional UN delivery mechanisms and restricted the flow of humanitarian supplies to a fraction of what was previously available. Since the new system, run by the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating, hundreds of people, including children, have been shot dead as they gathered to collect aid. Russell urged the Security Council to push for a return to UN aid-delivery systems so that essentials such as medicine, vaccines, water, food, and nutrition for babies can reach those in need. Fletcher, the humanitarian chief, told the council that the shattered healthcare system in Gaza meant that in some hospitals, five babies share a single incubator and pregnant women give birth without any medical care. He said the International Court of Justice has demanded that Israel 'take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance,' and added: 'Intentionally using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare would, of course, be a war crime.' During the meeting, Israel faced strong criticism from permanent Security Council members France and the UK. The British ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, described the shooting of Palestinians as they attempted to reach food-distribution sites as 'abhorrent.' She called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said the UK 'strongly opposes' the expansion of Israeli military operations. French envoy Jerome Bonnafont said Israel must end its blockade of humanitarian aid, and denounced the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation system as 'unacceptable and incompatible' with the requirements of international law. He said an international conference due to take place on July 28 and 29 at the UN headquarters in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, would offer a 'pathway toward the future' and identify tangible ways in which a two-state solution might be reached to end the wider conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Dorothy Shea, the ambassador to the UN from Israel's main international ally, the US, said the blame for the situation in Gaza lay with Hamas, which continues to hold hostages taken during the attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the conflict in Gaza.
