NUMBER OF DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE CONTINUES TO DROP, REPORTS UNICEF

The number of children dying before their fifth birthday has decreased steadily over the past few years and fell to under 9 million in 2008, thanks in part to greater use of health interventions such as vaccinations and insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria, the United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/index.php">UNICEF) <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51087.html">said today.

Newly released data compiled by demographers and health experts from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO), the World Bank and the UN Population Division shows a 28 per cent decline in the under-five mortality rate, from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990, to 65 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008.

The absolute number of child deaths in 2008 declined to an estimated 8.8 million from 12.5 million in 1990, the base line year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline that includes reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by that time.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman noted that compared to 1990, some 10,000 fewer children are dying every day.

"While progress is being made, it is unacceptable that each year 8.8 million children die before their fifth birthday," she added.

Public health experts attribute the continuing drop to greater use of health interventions such as immunizations, the use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria and vitamin A supplementation.

UNICEF noted that progress has been seen in every part of the world, and even in some of the least-developed countries, such as Malawi, one of ten high under-five mortality countries that is now on track to meet the related MDG.

In addition, impressive gains have been made in countries that are not fully on track to meet that MDG, including in Niger, Mozambique and Ethiopia which have all reduced under-five mortality by more than 100 per 1,000 live births since 1990.

At the same time, UNICEF stated that while progress has been made in many countries, the global rate of improvement is still insufficient to reach the MDG, and Africa and Asia combined still account for 93 per cent of all under-five deaths that occur each year in the developing world.

"A handful of countries with large populations bear a disproportionate burden of under-five deaths, with 40 per cent of the world's under-five deaths occurring in just three countries: India, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Ms. Veneman.

"Unless mortality in these countries can be significantly reduced, the MDG targets will not be met," she cautioned, adding that this will require a strong sense of urgency with targeted resources for greater progress.

MALE CIRCUMCISION COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS TO PREVENT HIV – UN-BACKED REPORT

Male circumcision is a cost-effective means to prevent the spread of HIV, according to a new United Nations-backed report, which found that one HIV infection could be averted for every five to 15 procedures performed on heterosexual men.

Using a 10-year time horizon, the study put the cost of averting one HIV infection in high HIV prevalence areas between $150 and $900.

Published in the open access journal <i>PLoS Medicine</i>, it is based on findings in meetings convened by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2009/20090907_Male_circumcision_programmes.asp">UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) and the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA).

First-line treatment costs typically exceed $7,000 over a lifetime, and double that if second-line therapies are used, the report said.

With each circumcision procedure costing between $30 and $60, with neonatal circumcision costing only one-third that amount, "circumcising sexually active males of any age is likely to be cost saving," it stressed.

However, the new publication pointed out that male circumcision may have only a minimal impact on curbing HIV transmission among men who have sex with men.

Additionally, despite studies confirming that circumcision could decrease female-to-male HIV transmission by 60 per cent, the procedure does not directly protect women from the virus, the report said.

PAKISTAN: UN VOICES CONCERN OVER DESTRUCTION OF HEALTH FACILITIES

With many health centres in north-western Pakistan having been destroyed or looted during recent clashes between Government forces and militants, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today expressed apprehension about supporting the 1.5 million uprooted people returning to their homes.

"We are still very much concerned about the possibility of being able to supply [returnees] with the necessary support in health," Eric Laroche, WHO Assistant Director-General, said.

He expressed relief that there have been no outbreaks of epidemics, attributing this to the early warning system in place on the ground.

"The problem now is that these people are going back home and we need to reinstitute these types of surveillance systems and early warning systems in these areas of return," Dr. Laroche said, adding that this will be a "major challenge."

WHO, he said, needs $35 million to respond to the health crisis and recovery in northwest Pakistan.

According to the Pakistani Government, almost 90 per cent of the 1.1 million people in the Swat district – which has an overall population of 1.7 million – who were driven out by fighting have since returned to their homes.

A UN inter-agency mission lead by Martin Mogwanja, the world body's Humanitarian Coordinator, found that public sector infrastructure and facilities such as telecommunications and electricity are functional, but dilapidated.

Food assistance is also crucial during the early recovery phase, the team said. Currently, there are four food distribution hubs in place, with every registered household receiving a monthly ration.

In Swat, nearly 90 per cent of crops from the last harvest have been lost, it added.

To assist the Government and the international community to respond to needs in the wake of the country's displacement crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this week announced the appointment of veteran French diplomat Jean-Maurice Ripert as his Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan.

Mr. Ripert, who is currently France's Ambassador to the UN, will be tasked with promoting a "strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to supporting the humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction needs of crisis-affected areas" in concert with the Pakistani Government and international partners.
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UN AGENCIES DISCUSS EARLY RECOVERY EFFORTS WITH PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES

United Nations officials have wrapped up a mission to Swat district in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to discuss the strengthening of humanitarian assistance to those uprooted by military operations in the region, as well as early recovery efforts.

"We met district authorities and national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and established the need for early recovery activities to start as soon as possible," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Mogwanja, who led the mission.

"So far the humanitarian community has distributed food and health kits but we want to expand our assistance," he stated.

As of last week, the Pakistani Government estimated that around 1.6 million of the over 2 million people displaced by conflict in NWFP had returned to their villages.

Over half of the returnees went back to the districts of Swat and Buner, among the areas hardest hit by the fighting, while the rest returned to Dir and Shangla districts.

During their mission to Swat, UN agencies gained a better understanding of the current situation and found that agriculture, education and health were of the highest importance, according to a news release issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

OCHA added that it is planning to open a satellite office in Swat that will work closely with the district authorities and other humanitarian actors on the ground.

The mission to Swat included representatives of OCHA, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

To assist the Government and the international community to respond to needs in the wake of the country's displacement crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday announced the appointment of veteran French diplomat Jean-Maurice Ripert as his Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan.

Mr. Ripert, who is currently France's Ambassador to the UN, will be tasked with promoting a "strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to supporting the humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction needs of crisis affected areas" in concert with the Pakistani Government and international partners.
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UNICEF HEAD SPEAKS OUT AGAINST VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN YEMEN

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for "immediate and secure" access to people uprooted by escalating clashes – mostly children and women – between Government forces and rebels in northern Yemen.

"Children cannot be the innocent victims of conflict," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said in a statement issued yesterday, noting that the agency stands ready to assist civilians caught up in the conflict.

The humanitarian situation in camps, she said, is becoming ever more dire due to the lack of basic services, including safe water, sanitation and nutrition.

"Thousands of more families remain trapped inside the conflict zone, unable to reach safer areas," Ms. Veneman added. "They, too, are in urgent need of humanitarian support."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that insecurity is hindering aid agencies' efforts to reach people affected by the fighting, which could ultimately uproot up to 150,000 people.

Including those displaced by previous violence, some 119,000 people in Sa'ada governorate have fled clashes between Government troops and Al Houthi rebels which are now spreading to the neighbouring Amran governorate.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that the violence has affected 35,000 in the past two weeks alone.

Stepped up fighting in recent days "is worsening what is already a dire and complex humanitarian emergency," agency spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.

"We are especially worried about the situation in Sa'ada city, the provincial capital of Sa'ada governorate," he said, noting that a UNHCR team has reported that there has been no water and electricity there since 10 August.

Additionally, there is a fuel shortage and it is becoming increasingly perilous for people to reach markets to purchase food, Mr. Mahecic said.

Although UNHCR, which last week called on donors for an additional $5 million to respond to the latest emergency, has registered hundreds of newly displaced families, registration has been suspended due to security situation inside the city as well as a curfew.

Along with preparing new aid shipments, the agency is working with local authorities on the construction of a new camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) that could house up to 3,500 people.

According to OCHA, the violence has made it difficult for humanitarian workers to access the uprooted and accurately assess the situation, with the Sa'ada airport having been closed to all non-military activities.

Travel by land from Yemen's capital, Sana'a, has been hampered by roadblocks, with UN agencies having evacuated non-resident staff from Sa'ada on 20 August.

The Ministry of Public Health has pointed to an alarming situation in Sa'ada, which borders Saudi Arabia and is a relatively remote and inaccessible region where many health facilities are currently not functioning.

According to an inter-agency assessment in Haradh, many IDPs were found to be living without shelter or water and are at risk of heat stroke and severe dehydration. Further, cases of diarrhoeal diseases and child malnutrition have been reported.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has airlifted 40 metric tonnes of high energy biscuits, distributing 10 metric tonnes of food aid to 7,000 newly-displaced people in Hajjah governorate. It started delivering a one-month ration of cereals, pulses, vegetable, salt and sugar on 23 August for 10,000 people.

For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided two trauma kits to the Ministry of Public Health, while a mobile health clinic was deployed last week.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released $1.2 million for rapid response measures to provide immediate assistance to 25,000 people displaced by previous fighting in Sa'ada.

A flash appeal, to fund life-saving assistance for up to 150,000 IDPs and other indirectly affected people, is being prepared.
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TOP UN OFFICIALS REVIEW MALARIA CONTROL EFFORTS IN UGANDA

Two senior United Nations officials are currently in Uganda to review the country's progress in controlling malaria, which every year kills an estimated 1 million people, most of them children in Africa.

The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO), Margaret Chan, are also hoping to gain a better understanding of the remaining challenges in tackling the disease.

The two officials arrived in Uganda from Tanzania, where they met on Monday with President Jakaya Kikwete.

In addition to Government leaders, Mr. Chambers and Dr. Chan are also holding talks with local <"http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/index.html">malaria experts and visiting urban and rural health centres focused on fighting the disease. They are joined on the trip by the President of the Global Health Programme at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"Their long-term objective is to end malaria deaths," UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York. "That can be achieved by meeting the Secretary-General's goal of providing all endemic African countries with malaria control interventions by the end of 2010."

Last September government, business and civil society leaders launched a global campaign to reduce malaria deaths to near zero by 2015, with an initial commitment of nearly $3 billion.

The Global Malaria Action Plan aims to cuts deaths and illness by 2010 to half their 2000 levels by scaling up access to insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor spraying and treatment, and achieve the near-zero goal through sustained universal coverage. Ultimately it seeks to eradicate the disease completely with new tools and strategies.

Halting the incidence of malaria is one of the many health-related targets that make up the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the pledges world leaders made to try to slash poverty, hunger, preventable illness and a host of other socio-economic ills by 2015.

OTHERWISE HEALTHY PEOPLE DO NOT NEED ANTIVIRALS FOR H1N1, SAYS UN HEALTH AGENCY

Otherwise healthy people infected with the H1N1 virus do not need to be treated with antiviral drugs, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today as it issued new guidelines in the use of the drugs against the pandemic.

Worldwide, most infected patients continue to display typical influenza symptoms and fully recover within a week without any form of medical treatment.

According to the new guidelines, formed by consensus by a global group of experts, healthy patients with uncomplicated illnesses do not need to take antivirals.

The guidelines emphasize using drugs such as oseltamivir and zanamivir, to which the pandemic virus is susceptible, to prevent severe illness and deaths, reduce the need for hospitalization, and shorten hospital stays.

When properly prescribed, oseltamivir is found to significantly curb the risk of pneumonia, a leading cause of death for both pandemic and seasonal influenza.

WHO recommends treatment with the drug as soon as possible among people who are severely or whose conditions begin to deteriorate. Where oseltamivir is not available, zanamivir can be given.

The virus is currently resistant to a second class of antivirals, known as M2 inhibitors.

Pregnant women are among the groups considered to be at increased risk, and WHO recommends that they receive antiviral treatment as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms.

The agency cautioned that the presence of underlying medical conditions is not a reliable indicator of all or even most cases of severe illness, with some 40 per cent of severe cases now occurring in previously healthy children and adults under the age of 50.

For children, the guidelines call for prompt treatment for children – including those under five years of age – with severe or worsening illnesses, as well as those at risk of more severe or complicated illness.

Otherwise healthy children over five years, WHO said, do not need antiviral treatment unless their conditions persist or worsen.

If someone with confirmed or suspected H1N1 infections shows symptoms including shortness of breath, chest pain and high fever lasting beyond three days, they should seek immediate medical attention.

Among children, warning signs include fast or difficult breathing, lack of alertness, difficulty in waking up and little or no desire to play.

Earlier this week, WHO, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children's Fund and other groups issued a "Call to Action" to support governments and communities in their bid to minimize the virus' impact.

YEMEN : UN RELEASES EMERGENCY FUNDS TO HELP PEOPLE TRAPPED BY FIGHTING

The United Nations has released over $200,000 in emergency funding to meet health needs in northern Yemen , the scene of deadly fighting between Government troops and rebels.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has received the funds from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to help civilians uprooted by clashes in the Al-Malaheed area of Saada province, which borders Saudi Arabia and is a relatively remote and inaccessible region, where the violence has been concentrated.

WHO will use the influx of funds to provide health services, especially for women and children, as well as treat diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections.
The agency has already sent enough medical supplies to treat 200 people who have sustained injuries in the fighting, with plans to send more supplies next week.
Staff have been dispatched from WHO's regional office in Cairo , Egypt , to Yemen , and the agency is working with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to coordinate a combined health and nutrition response to the situation.

Yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern about escalating hostilities in northern Yemen , appealing to all sides in the clashes to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected areas, his spokesperson Marie Okabe said following questions from journalists.
He also voiced hope that the situation in would soon be resolved by peaceful means and that the fighting will stop.
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UN HEALTH AGENCY ADVISES SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS IN FIGHT AGAINST A(H1N1) VIRUS

The United Nations health agency is providing practical information and technical expertise to countries in South-East Asia to help reduce panic and encourage prevention against the influenza A(H1N1) virus, which has already claimed over 80 lives in the region and continues to spread.

"It is important to remember that Member States in South-east Asia have been preparing for pandemic influenza for years and that preparedness could help them with the current pandemic," said Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director for the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO is assisting countries in the region to strengthen surveillance, laboratory capacity, anti-viral and vaccine production and distribution, and information for the public, she added.

The agency reiterated the need to promote practices such as frequent hand-washing and covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
to prevent the spread of the virus, which has now been reported in over 170 countries and territories worldwide.

As of 6 August, the virus had affected over 11,400 people in South-East Asia and led to at least 83 deaths.

Among other issues, the agency noted that in general, identifying sick students and keeping them at home is more beneficial than school closures. In addition, it stressed that the use of surgical face masks is recommended only for patients and health-care workers.

WHO has transferred technology and development funds to vaccine manufacturers in the region, including Serum Institute of India, Biopharma (Indonesia) and GPO (Thailand), which together have the capacity to produce some 220 million doses of a vaccine annually.

In a bid to reassure the public after concerns were raised in the media, the agency stated earlier this month that the rush to produce a vaccine to fight the spread of the influenza A(H1N1) virus will not jeopardize the safety or effectiveness
of any new drug.

To have the greatest impact, vaccines need to be available quickly and in large quantities as they are among the most effective medical interventions for reducing illness and deaths during a pandemic, it added.

WHO calculates that completing the steps involved in developing a new vaccine from start -- obtaining a virus sample -- to finish, when the first supplies of the approved vaccine available for use, takes around five to six months.
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UN SENDING MEDICAL HELP TO CONFLICT-WRACKED NORTH YEMEN

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is rushing medical assistance to northern Yemen, the scene of recent violence pitting Government forces against rebels.

The agency has sent medicine and supplies to treat people who have sustained injuries during the fighting, which media reports say has lasted a week in the mountainous region of Saada. Further supplies will be sent to the area next week.

A senior WHO emergency health officer has been dispatched from Cairo, Egypt, and is set to visit the conflict zone shortly, said spokesperson Paul Garwood.

WHO is waiting for confirmation of casualty figures, and is working with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on a joint health and nutrition response to the current emergency.
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CÔTE D’IVOIRE CARRIES OUT NATIONWIDE POLIO CAMPAIGN WITH HELP OF UN MISSION

The Government of Côte d'Ivoire is wrapping up a nationwide campaign to immunize children against polio today, carried out with the help of the United Nations mission which provided logistical support to the effort to stamp out the highly infectious and incurable viral disease.

Some 6 million children were targeted in the four-day campaign, which began on 14 August and is part of the National Immunization Days.

The UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) transported medical teams and equipment in 41 localities in the departments of Odienné and Daloa. UN Police were also mobilized to assist throughout the campaign.

The mission will continue to assist authorities over the next few days as they evaluate the immunization efforts, which were also supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Polio – contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces – was almost eradicated in Côte d'Ivoire until a case was confirmed in December 2008 in Adiaké in the country's east.

The disease attacks the nervous system and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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UN AGENCIES LAUNCH NEXT ROUND OF CHILD HEALTH INITIATIVE IN SOMALIA

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have launched a second round of Child Health Days in Somalia in a bid to improve child survival rates in the violence-wracked country.

The aim of the days is to deliver a package of critical health services, including vaccinations, vitamin supplements and hygiene education, to children under five and to women of child-bearing age.

The first round of Child Health Days, held during the first six months of this year, reached an estimated 1.8 million women and children throughout the country. This time, some 5,000 volunteers are targeting 1 million women and children in the Somaliland region, before moving on to the central-south region and Puntland in October and December.

The package includes measles and polio immunization, vitamin A supplementation, de-worming, aqua-tabs to treat drinking water, hygiene education, tetanus vaccination for women, and nutritional screening and referral.
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FIRST PHASE OF EX-COMBATANTS’ DEMOBILIZATION WRAPS UP IN SUDAN – UN

Thousands of former fighters have taken part in the first phase of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme, marking a key milestone for the 2005 agreement that ended Sudan's north-south civil war, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country reported today.

The last of over 5,600 ex-combatants earmarked for demobilization were processed yesterday in the first phase of the DDR scheme in Blue Nile state, in Sudan's east, according to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which celebrated the achievement in a brief ceremony.

The joint North and South Sudan DDR commissions, along with UNMIS, the UN Development Programme UNDP, World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), are assisting with the process in Blue Nile.

The DDR initiative seeks to ensure that demobilized combatants are properly reintegrated into civilian life, receiving packages including livestock and vocational training. Monitoring is also a crucial component to prevent former fighters from sliding back into violence.

The DDR commissions have agreed to jointly process caseloads in Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and Abyei, before expanding to other areas under the 2005 pact, known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Other key benchmarks of the treaty include border demarcation and preparations for national elections in 2010 and a referendum on the final status of areas of southern Sudan in 2011.

One-third of ex-combatants demobilized in Blue Nile have already started receiving counseling as a first step to reintegrate into civilian life.

Up to 180,000 former fighters from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Popular Defence Forces and Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) will be demobilized, and the first stages will target mostly those with special needs, including the old and infirm, as well as women and children associated with armed forces or groups.

The multi-year scheme is being led jointly by the DDR commissions, with financial and technical support from the UN.

But UNMIS pointed out that funding continues to be a major challenge. Some $430 million is required over three years, but only $88 million was pledged at the last donor conference held in Juba earlier this year.

In a related development, the UN today welcomed the donation of 22 vehicles by the European Commission, which will be used by the DDR commissions to help monitor participants transition into civilian life.

"The progress made in the past year on DDR has become one of the success stories of CPA implementation," UNDP Country Director Jorgen Lissner said at a ceremony in the capital, Khartoum.

The cars will be used to allow case workers to cover areas of reintegration and provide logistical support for the daily operations of the commissions.
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EXPEDITING VACCINE FOR INFLUENZA A(H1N1) WILL NOT JEOPARDIZE SAFETY – UN AGENCY

The rush to produce a vaccine to fight the spread of the influenza A(H1N1) virus will not jeopardize the safety or effectiveness of any new drug, the United Nations health agency said today in a bid to reassure the public after concerns were raised in the media.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the "regulatory procedures in place for the licensing of pandemic vaccines, including procedures for expediting regulatory approval, are rigorous and do not compromise safety or quality controls."

To have the greatest impact, vaccines need to be available quickly and in large quantities as they are among the most effective medical interventions for reducing illness and deaths during a pandemic, WHO said in a news release.

In preparation for a flu outbreak in 2007, WHO examined ways to fast-track the approval of pandemic vaccines with the help of health officials, regulatory authorities and vaccine manufacturers.

The agency sought to shorten the time between the emergence of a pandemic virus and the availability of safe and effective vaccines, while maintaining regulatory control and setting out in detail precautions to guarantee the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the drugs.

WHO noted that in some cases, vaccines are not regarded by regulatory authorities as entirely new, as they build on existing technology used to produce inoculations for seasonal influenza, procedures for testing and regulatory control, and safety data.

It stressed that flu vaccines have been used for more than 60 years and have an established record of safety in all age groups, and although some serious adverse effects have been reported. WHO said they are rare and expected during a pandemic when a vaccine is administered on a massive scale.

"Time constraints mean that clinical data at the time when pandemic vaccines are first administered will inevitably be limited," said WHO. "Further testing of safety and effectiveness will need to take place after administration of the vaccine has begun."

WHO calculates that completing the steps involved in developing a new vaccine from start – obtaining a virus sample – to finish, when the first supplies of the approved vaccine available for use, takes around five to six months.
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FAITH-BASED GROUPS PROPEL DEVELOPMENT, SAYS HEAD OF UN POPULATION AGENCY

Faith-based groups play a key role in promoting development, the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said, stressing the need for stepped-up cooperation between the world body and religious organizations in boosting the welfare of the most vulnerable.

UNFPA is cognizant of "the profound moral authority that religious leaders have" and is aware of "the fact that religious organizations are the older social service providers humankind has known," Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the agency's Executive Director, said at a round table discussion yesterday with faith-based organizations.

Between 30 and 60 per cent of basic healthcare services in the developing world are provided by such groups, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), while the World Bank has found that in some instances, health and education services offered by the religious organizations are better than those of governments.

Given this evidence, "systematic, deliberate and focused" engagement between faith-based groups and the UN is crucial, Ms. Obaid said at the gathering in New York.

"Ad-hoc partnerships, and ones where the United Nations is a donor and the faith-based organization is one of many civil society partners, can be lost opportunities," she cautioned.

Therefore, the official said, a studied approach focusing on "culturally sensitive development" is essential to enhance any collaboration between the UN and religious groups to promote human rights.

Areas ripe for cooperation include HIV/AIDS, women's empowerment, maternal health, migration, humanitarian relief, reproductive health and gender-based violence, Ms. Obaid emphasized.
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SRI LANKA: UN SUPPORTS ANTI-MEASLES CAMPAIGN FOR DISPLACED CHILDREN

More than 36,000 children living in camps in northern Sri Lanka after being uprooted by the recent conflict will be vaccinated against measles in a special child health campaign launched this week by the Government, United Nations agencies and their partners.

The campaign, which will target all children under the age of five, aims to counter the sporadic cases of measles which have occurred in the past months and prevent risk of further outbreak.

Supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), it follows several weeks of preparations to pre-position immunization supplies, train health workers and mobilize volunteers.

Nearly 100 public health midwives and 1,200 volunteers will participate at 30 centres in Vavuniya, where the majority of the 280,000 people that fled the fighting between Government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are residing.

Along with the measles immunization, children will be given a dose of vitamin A and de-worming tablets – two additional life-saving interventions aimed at raising a child's resistance against many diseases and preventing malnutrition, while freeing them from worms. Children will also be given the polio vaccine.

"Children under five are the most vulnerable part of a population especially in emergencies; this campaign will help save lives," said Desiree Jongsma, Acting UNICEF Country Representative.

According to UNICEF, measles remains one of the major causes of childhood illness and a leading cause of child deaths worldwide, especially in countries undergoing or recovering from emergencies.
Immunization activities, together with vitamin A supplementation, are the most effective meanos of reducing mortality during and after complex emergencies, it added.
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NEW UN ONLINE SCHEME ALLOWS FREE ACADEMIC JOURNAL ACCESS TO POOREST NATIONS

The United Nations has partnered with the scientific publishing industry to provide research institutions in least developed countries free access to online journals, the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced today at the launch of the scheme in Geneva.

The new UN-brokered programme, Access to Research for Development and Innovation (aRDi), will allow industrial property offices, universities and research institutes to subscribe free of charge to prominent science and technology publications including the American Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences, Oxford University Press and Royal Society of Chemistry, among others.

The World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) provided advice and expertise gained from similar initiatives which offer access to journals in their respective fields of the UN agencies.

"Knowledge contained in scientific and technical literature is critical to the innovation process," WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry said at the start of a two-day gathering of ministers and senior officials from discussing ways intellectual property policy can create wealth in least developed countries (LDCs).

In certain developing countries, low-cost access to a range of key online scientific and technical publications will also be afforded to industrial property offices.
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CHANGE IN DRUG TREATMENT REDUCES HIV INFECTION IN NEWBORN BABIES – UN-BACKED STUDY

Mother-to-child HIV transmission rates can be dramatically cut with the administration of a cocktail of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs over a longer period of time to pregnant and breastfeeding women, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced today.

Newborn babies are over 40 per cent less likely to become infected with the virus if HIV-positive pregnant women take a combination of three ARV drugs from the last trimester of pregnancy until six months into breastfeeding, rather than a short course of drugs that ends at delivery, according to a new study led by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The study – named Kesho Bora, which means "a better future" in Swahili – involved 1,140 women from Burkina Faso, Kenya and South Africa and showed that a significant reduction can be achieved in many pregnant women with a lowered immune cell count.

In many developing countries HIV-positive mothers face a tough choice between breastfeeding their babies and risking the transmission of the virus through their milk, or giving them formula which deprives infants of the natural immunity passed on through breast milk and helps protect against diarrhoea, malnutrition and other potentially deadly diseases.

UNAIDS said in a news release that it was clear that the Kesho Bora research increases the range of treatment options available to mothers living with the virus and offers them hope that, if they so wish, they have a greater chance of breastfeeding their babies without passing on HIV.

The agency added that there is no increased risk to the health of the mother or the infant associated with this triple-ARV regimen, consisting of zidovudine, lamivudine and lopinavir/ritonavir.

"Strengthened services for maternal health, for reproductive health and for paediatric health will mean we can prevent mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV in Lesotho and around the world," said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé during a recent visit to Lesotho in Southern Africa.

The initial findings of the three-year study were presented at the 5th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which concluded today in Cape Town, South Africa.

WHO worked on the study in partnership with the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the US National Institutes of Health.

Additional funds for the Kesho Bora study were provided by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, the Thrasher Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, UNICEF and the Belgian Government.
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GROWING INSECURITY IN SOMALI CAPITAL HAMPERING AID ACCESS, UN WARNS

Aid workers are finding it increasingly difficult to gain access and provide assistance to residents of the Somali capital because of the worsening conflict there, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

This week's scheduled distribution of 4,000 aid kits in Mogadishu and surrounding areas had to be postponed because of security concerns, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva.

The looting by militants of UN facilities in Baidoa and Wajid yesterday has meant assistance efforts in those areas have also ground to a halt.

"We again appeal to the warring parties in Somalia to respect basic international humanitarian and human rights principles and to guarantee the safety and security of the civilian population as well as for the humanitarian workers trying to help the victims," Mr. Redmond said.

The UN's top humanitarian official, John Holmes, warned yesterday that aid workers in Somalia – and many other countries – are coming under increasingly violent attack.

An estimated 223,000 residents have now left Mogadishu since early May, when the Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam militant groups launched attacks against Government forces in the capital. In the past fortnight alone, about 20,000 people have fled their homes.

The newly displaced join another 400,000 Somalis packed into the Afgooye corridor, a congested strip of land that runs southwest from Mogadishu and is packed with makeshift shelters.

Mr. Redmond said non-governmental organizations (NGOs) trying to operate in the Afgooye area say they are overstretched and unable to cope with the latest influx.

"There is a lack of adequate shelter, sanitation facilities and clean drinking water. The situation has grown worse following recent torrential rains. The lack of sufficient latrines poses a major health risk."

The widespread insecurity means aid workers are struggling to deliver humanitarian assistance from the port of Mogadishu to the Afgooye corridor.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that it is especially concerned about deadly outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea, which is on the rise again around Mogadishu after two years of decline.

WHO is working with its NGO partners to provide cholera kits, oral rehydration sachets, aqua tabs and chlorine, and transport communication sets in a bid to contain the outbreaks of diarrhoea and cholera.

Two of Mogadishu's four functioning hospitals are admitting only war-wounded patients and trauma patients for emergency surgery, which is adding to the burden for other facilities.

In the Bakool region, which is home to at least 300,000 people, several health facilities – including a hospital in the town of Xudur – have had to be closed because of insecurity and hostility towards aid workers.

A spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) said that the agency was committed to helping Somalis and was continuing its operations, despite yesterday's attack by looters.
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UNICEF USES TEXT MESSAGES TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT POLIO IN ZAMBIA

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will be sending text messages to millions of Zambian parents this week as part of a new initiative to harness modern technology in the fight to prevent polio.

UNICEF has joined forces with the Zambian Health Ministry and two mobile phone companies, ZAIN and MTN, to encourage parents to bring their children under the age of five to the nearest health-care centre for free polio vaccinations.

"It is about time that we used modern technology to ensure child health and this year is particularly important because of the polio prevention campaign," said UNICEF Zambia Representative, Lotta Sylwander.

Ms. Sylwander also expressed gratitude to MTN and ZAIN for sending SMS texts informing millions of their subscribers of activities taking place during the prevention campaign against the crippling disease in 28 districts bordering Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"Your child can be healthier! Take your children under age five to the nearest health centre for free vaccinations from 20-25 July," is the message Zambian mobile phone users will read, UNICEF said in a news release.

The campaign at the centre of Zambia's Child Health Week activities is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the United States Center for Diseases Control and Prevention and UNICEF.

Polio is a highly infectious and incurable viral disease. Contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces, it attacks the nervous system and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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