THOUSAND OSI Translation. Region: Spanish/Latin America/UN –
Source: United Nations – in Spanish 4
Headline: Iran, Gaza, childhood vaccination, Rohingya community… Friday’s news
We must put an end to the spiral of retaliation in the Middle East
António Guterres issued a new call for all parties to “stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East”, following reports of Israeli attacks inside Iran near a nuclear power plant early on Friday.
“The Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and calls on the international community to work together to prevent further developments that could have devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,” he said in a statement issued by your office.
Echoing these concerns, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged “extreme restraint” from all parties and reiterated that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts.
Following unconfirmed media reports that possible drone attacks had targeted the Iranian province of Isfahan, which is home to nuclear facilities and military garrisons, the agency confirmed in a tweet that there was no damage to its nuclear facilities.
More than 10,000 women have died in the Gaza conflict.
Number of complications during childbirth doubles in Gaza
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, the representative of the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health (UNFPA) in Palestine said there are indications that the number of complicated births is almost double what it was before the war broke out.
“There is an absolute increase in numbers,” said Dominic Allen, adding that before the war, about 15% of births required some form of emergency obstetric care.
Currently, some doctors have reported “a doubling of what they treated before, and this is due to malnutrition, dehydration and fear, which impact the pregnant woman’s ability to give birth safely and carry a baby.” her baby to term safely,” the UNFPA official said.
Allen described his latest mission to Gaza to assess the impact of Israeli strikes on healthcare in besieged hospitals in the northern, central and southern provinces.
It became clear that the last remaining hospitals in the enclave, including the second largest, Nasser Hospital, are “clinging to existence while being a lifeline for pregnant women in Gaza,” Allen said via video link from Jerusalem.
“What I have seen breaks my heart… It is indescribable. What we see there was medical equipment broken on purpose, ultrasound machines, which as you know is a very important tool to help ensure safe births, with cables that have been cut, screens of complex medical equipment such as ultrasound machines and others with the screens destroyed. So an intentional and gratuitous destruction of maternity services.”
© UNICEF/Patricia Willocq
A five-month-old child receives a vaccine at a health center in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
1.2 million children under one year old remain unprotected in America
With 15 out of every 100 children on the continent only partially protected against vaccine-preventable diseases, the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged countries in the region to continue efforts to recover routine vaccination coverage.
“Historically, our region has always been a leader in disease elimination. However, for more than a decade, vaccination coverage has decreased significantly. This is due to several factors, including that there is a false perception that eliminated and controlled diseases no longer represent a risk to people’s health, that vaccination programs have fallen down the list of priorities, and that misinformation has increased. since the COVID-19 pandemic,” declared Jarbas Barbosa during a press conference this Friday on the occasion of the next Vaccination Week in the Americas.
Countries also remain far from the 90% coverage rate needed to protect girls ages 9 to 14 against Human Papillomavirus, “which provides them with lifelong protection against cervical cancer, a major risk factor.” causes of death among women,” added the director.
Barbosa noted that to make up for lost ground, countries will need to increase financial and technical resources to improve the performance of essential vaccination services, establish effective communication strategies to address vaccine hesitancy, and increase political commitment to routine vaccination programs.
UNICEF/Patrick Brown
Newly arrived Rohingya refugees walk to shore on a beach in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district after traveling for five hours in a boat through the open waters of the Bay of Bengal. (File photo)
The High Commissioner for Human Rights raised the alarm this Friday over the escalation of violence in Rakhine state, Myanmar, between the Junta (government) and opposition forces, amid reports that the military regime is forcing members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community to join its ranks.
Rakhine was the scene of a brutal military crackdown against this community in 2017, resulting in the deaths of some 10,000 men, women and newborns, and the exodus of almost 750,000 community members, many of whom continue to languish in camps. refugees in neighboring Bangladesh.
“Rachine State has once again become a multi-actor battlefield, and civilians are paying a heavy price, with the Rohingya at particular risk,” said Volker Türk.
“What is particularly worrying is that, while the Rohingya were targeted by a single group in 2017, they are now caught between two armed factions that have a history of killing them. We must not allow them to be a target again.”
The breakdown last November of a year-long informal ceasefire between the military and the Arakan Army has plunged 15 of Rakhine’s 17 municipalities into conflict.
The Burmese Army’s loss of territory to the Arakan Army in the north and center of the province has intensified fighting in the townships of Buthidaung and Maungdaw, setting the stage for a possible battle for the state capital, Sittwe.
The presence of large Rohingya populations in these areas further exacerbates the risks faced by civilians.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.
