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From the UN chief's plea for a halt in hostilities in all conflict zones to instead fight the coronavirus, to peacekeepers in Cyprus ensuring humanitarian deliveries get through, the world organization continues its many roles, a UN spokesman said Monday.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told of a few of the continuing roles of the UN's different entities in the global fight against COVID-19 following the UN chief's peace plea.
The UN Mission in Cyprus has stepped up measures to protect peacekeepers, ensuring the continuity of UN operations and preventing the potential spread of COVID-19, Dujarric told correspondents at a tele-briefing.
The mission is making every effort to guarantee that necessary humanitarian deliveries continue for affected people living in the north of the divided island, he added.
All newly arriving peacekeepers are to undergo 14 days of isolation before starting their duties with the mission, he said. Members of the civilian staff have been instructed to telecommute wherever possible.
The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that over 320 million children around the world are missing out on school meals due to school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dujarric said. Many of them depend on the daily meals they receive at school.
Some 37 countries where the WFP implements school feeding programs have so far reported partial or country-wide school closures, he said. As a result, nearly 9 million children are no longer receiving WFP-supported school meals.
"To assist these children and their families, WFP is evaluating alternatives, including take-home food rations, home food deliveries, or cash vouchers," the spokesman said.
"Where emergency safety net programs are being introduced by governments in response to COVID-19, WFP is also advocating to include schoolchildren and their families as part of the vulnerable population," he said.
The African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is implementing measures in its area of operations to minimize the risk posed to its personnel and Sudan by COVID-19, the spokesman said.
These measures include the tracking of its staff traveling to and from affected regions around the world; self-quarantine of staff members who may have traveled from affected countries; training of mission staff; and ensuring effective use of personal protective equipment especially among health care workers in the UNAMID.
In Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Iraq, met Sunday with Iraq's minister of health and other ministry officials, Dujarric said.
Afterward, the special representative said she had emphasized the UN's support to their efforts, as well as to the endless efforts of the medical professionals. They are the unsung heroes in the fight against the coronavirus, she said.
The special representative added her voice to the health, religious, civilian and security authorities calling on the people to abide by advice from international health authorities, as well as national recommendations and local health authorities.
The special representative said that Iraq has been able to contain the spread of the virus, but this is just an initial victory in a long struggle, and the virus can only be fought with the full cooperation of every individual.
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the head of the International Federation of Association Football, Gianni Infantino, launched a new campaign called "Pass the Message to Kick Out Coronavirus."
Dujarric said the campaign will be rolled out through videos and other means in multiple languages.
Tedros and Infantino were electronically joined at the launch by renowned goalkeeper Alisson Becker of Brazil, also a WHO Goodwill Ambassador. Becker called for teamwork in addressing the pandemic, the spokesman said.
