25 April 2017 – The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is celebrating 70 years of bringing countries across the continent together to cooperate on a wide range of issues, including trade, transport, sustainable development and food safety, which impact the daily lives of its citizens.

“Throughout its 70 years, UNECE has been connecting countries, driving progress, really impacting the lives of citizens throughout the region,” Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach told UN News in an interview in the lead up to the Commission’s sixty-seventh session, which begins in Geneva on 26 April.

“And it has been done quietly; a little bit under the radar,” noted Mr. Bach, who previously served as the Minister of Development Cooperation in Denmark.

One of five UN regional commissions set up by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the UNECE aims to promote economic integration throughout Europe through the definitions of norms, standards and conventions enhancing the lives of its people. It includes 56 Member States in Europe, North America and Asia.

For Mr. Bach, who has been leading the commission since July 2014, the UNECE is probably one of the UN organizations that people are most in contact with every single day of their lives. “When people get up in the morning, the fresh food or vegetables they eat are traded according to the agricultural standards in UNECE. When they are driving, the road signs and signals are defined and negotiated in UNECE,” explained Mr. Bach.

He went on to note that every single company is in contact with UNECE on a daily basis thanks to its many trade facilitation standards and norms, whether it uses law codes when shipping a package or uses electronic business standards when electronically trading.

“So citizens throughout our region are in contact with UNECE from when they wake up to when they go to bed and it positively impacts their lives,” said Mr. Bach.

Helping countries to implement the SDGs and the Paris Agreement

Take for example the target of SDGs on halving the number of deaths from road crashes. Our convention on road safety helps countries to have safer roads, and better signs and signalsChristian Friis Bach

UNECE has established hundreds of norms, standards and conventions that help countries to implement all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Take for example the target of SDGs on halving the number of deaths from road crashes. Our convention on road safety helps countries to have safer roads, and better signs and signals,” said Mr. Bach. “The vehicle regulations that are negotiated in UNECE make vehicles safer from everything like seatbelts to electronic stability controls.”

Climate change is another crucial area where UNECE is heavily involved. Over two thirds of the Commission’s Member States have ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change which entered into force in November 2016. From energy efficiency standards and regulations for cleaner cars to the promotion of more sustainable mobility such as cycling and walking, the Commission has a number of activities to help countries implement the Paris Agreement.

UNECE has, for example, recently established energy efficiency standards for buildings. “This is a huge issue in our region where the energy consumption of the buildings is too high,” said Mr. Bach.

“And by this new work on energy efficiency we can help our countries to have more energy-efficient buildings, save on energy and implement the Paris Agreement,” he added, while also underlining UNECE’s engagement in the transition to a fossil-free economy and sustainable energy for all.

UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach speaks with then Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning Amina J. Mohammed. The regional commission has established hundreds of norms, standards and conventions to help countries implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré

The UNECE Inland Transport Committee (ITC) meets to discuss European transport conventions. Over the last 70 years, together with its subsidiary bodies, the ITC has provided a pan-European forum, where UNECE member countries come together. UNECE/Pierre Albouy

Mr. Bach (left), Arancha González (centre), Executive Director of ITC, and Mukhisa Kituyi (right), Secretary-General of UNCTAD, during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between their three bodies. UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré

A food stall at the Orto Sole cooperative farm in Fiumicino and Torrimpietra, Italy. Fresh foods and vegetables eaten by Europeans are traded according to the agricultural standards in the UNECE region. The standards encourage high-quality production, improve profitability and protect consumer interests. Photo: FAO/Alessandra Benedetti.

Electric cars line up at the official start of the Zero Emissions Race outside the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG). These vehicles are fuelled by renewable energy such as solar, wind, wave and geothermal. UNECE promotes energy efficiency standards and regulations for cleaner vehicles. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

During the UNECE’s 66th session, Mr. Bach test drives a car that is equipped with Autonomous Emergency Braking. His car comes to a full automatic stop thanks to the automatic breaking system. UNECE recently paved the way for automated driving by updating the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré

During the UNECE’s 66th session, the Commission organized an event for partnership on cycling. UNECE is fully engaged in the transition to a fossil-free economy that includes more sustainable mobility such as cycling and walking. Recent UNECE-backed research revealed that if 56 major cities across Europe were to replicate Copenhagen’s share of cycling as a mode of transport, an estimated 435,000 cycling-related jobs could be created. Photo: UNECE.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Mr. Bach sits next to Sophia – a figure made solely of recycled plastic bottles – to raise awareness of the need for a greener environment. Photo: UNECE.

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Maximizing synergies with other UN organizations

Although divisions and tensions exist in Europe, Mr. Bach remained optimistic about UNECE’s work and the future. “UNECE has proven throughout its 70 years that even in the most difficult times, we could get countries together, put some of … the high politics aside and focus on concrete practical cooperation that is going to benefit citizens,” he said.

In UNECE, countries came together, put their differences aside and said: let’s get the road connected. We have to make sure we have efficient railways. We have to make sure we can cooperate on water, have clean airChristian Friis Bach

He recalled, for instance, that the largest transport convention was framed and formed during the very difficult years of the Cold War. “In UNECE, countries came together, put their differences aside and said: let’s get the road connected. We have to make sure we have efficient railways. We have to make sure we can cooperate on water, have clean air,” said Mr. Bach.

“This was done regardless of the tensions and conflicts and that for me is the strength, legacy and beauty of UNECE and we still have it.”

Mr. Bach is aware of the current difficulties facing Europe and believes that countries must get back on the pathway for economic integration and cooperation throughout the continent.

“This is our historical mission. This why UNECE was established,” he stated. “To ensure economic integration and cooperation, to maintain peace in Europe, and this mandate is today as relevant as ever.”

Mr. Bach will pass on UNECE’s leadership to Olga Algayerova of Slovakia in June 2017.

25 April 2017 – The United Nations health agency’s regional office for Africa has announced that Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi will take part in a breakthrough pilot programme to make the world’s first malaria vaccine available in selected areas, beginning in 2018.

“The prospect of a malaria vaccine is great news. Information gathered in the pilot will help us make decisions on the wider use of this vaccine”, said Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, in a news release.

Announcement of the coordinated rollout comes as the international community marks World Malaria Day and the kick-off of World Immunization Week, 24-30 April, which celebrates the widespread use of vaccines that protect people against 26 diseases. Overall, vaccines prevent an estimated two to three million deaths each year, according to WHO.

The injectable RTS,S vaccine was developed to protect young children from the most deadly form of malaria caused by Plasmodium parasites. It will be assessed in the pilot programme as a complementary malaria control tool to potentially be added to the core package of WHO-recommended measures for malaria prevention.

“Combined with existing malaria interventions, such a vaccine would have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives in Africa,” Dr. Moeti added.

Africa bears the greatest burden of malaria worldwide. Global efforts in the last 15 years have led to a 62 per cent reduction in malaria deaths between 2000 and 2015, yet approximately 429,000 people died of the disease in 2015 – the majority of them young children in Africa.

The WHO pilot programme will assess whether the vaccine’s protective effect in children aged 5 – 17 months old during Phase III testing can be replicated in real-life. Specifically, it will assess the feasibility of delivering the required four doses of RTS,S, the vaccine’s potential role in reducing childhood deaths and its safety in the context of routine use.

Pilot implementation strategy

The three countries selected to participate in the pilot were based on the criteria of high coverage of long-lasting insecticidal-treated nets; well-functioning malaria and immunisation programmes – a high malaria burden even after scale-up of LLINs; and participation in the Phase III RTS,S malaria vaccine trial.

Each country will decide on the districts and regions to be included, with high-malaria-burden areas prioritized, as they are predicted to provide the broadest benefit. Information garnered from the pilot will help to inform later decisions about potential wider use of the vaccine.

The malaria vaccine will be administered via intramuscular injection and delivered through routine national immunization programmes. WHO is working with the three countries to facilitate regulatory authorization of the vaccine for use in the pilots through the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum. Regulatory support will also include measures to enable the appropriate safety monitoring of the vaccine and rigorous evaluation for eventual large scale use.

Malaria: Facts, figures and prevention strategies

Coverage gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa. Source: WHO

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and the International Drug Purchase Facility UNITAID, are partnering to provide $49.2 million for the first phase of the pilot programme (2017-2020), which will be complemented in-kind by contributions from WHO and the British pharmaceutical company GSK .

25 April 2017 – While enormous challenges remain, Afghanistan authorities have made headway in their fight against corruption, according to a United Nations report released today, which also finds that the country is making progress in other areas, such as restoring institutional control over the delivery of public services.

“For the sake of the country’s future, corruption in Afghanistan must be addressed and eliminated,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan said in Kabul.

He said the UN welcomes the progress already made, and fully supports the Government’s ongoing efforts to fight corruption in the interest of ending impunity, ensuring accountability and transparency, and restoring integrity to the management of public services, finances and natural resources.

It its report entitled Afghanistan’s Fight against Corruption: The Other Battlefield, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), highlights the country’s progress in addressing corruption. Drawing on internationally recognized best practices, it provides recommendations for how the Government, with the continued support of the public and the international community, can build on those achievements.

“It is my sincere hope that the progress made so far in the fight against corruption and the recommendations contained in our report will serve as a platform to achieve greater policy coherence and coordination in Afghanistan,” said Mr. Yamamoto, who also heads UNAMA.

The report, which the Afghan ministries and judiciary received for input and endorsement prior to release, points out that corruption has affected all aspects of life in the country – undermining public trust and confidence in Government institutions and hindering efforts to bring lasting peace and prosperity to the State.

The report serves as a stark reminder that the fight against corruption cannot be won in the short term, and that the battle requires sustained commitment

A key component of Afghanistan’s fight against corruption is the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC). Its dedicated police and prosecution units, and a new national primary and appeals court, was established by Presidential Decree to operate with jurisdiction over the broad range of corruption offences specified in the current penal code.

The Justice Centre’s scope also includes money laundering, destruction or selling of cultural and historical relics, crimes against internal and external security, illegal extraction of mines and land usurpation.

In addition to outlining the advances made by the ACJC, which is actively investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating cases, the report indicates that Afghanistan is showing progress in restoring institutional control over the delivery of essential public services and management of public finances.

Recognizing that the Government’s ongoing anti-corruption efforts have yet to impact the lives of most Afghans, the report makes several recommendations and concludes that – notwithstanding the many legal and policy reforms that have been undertaken – corruption remains a substantial obstacle to Afghanistan’s long-term peace and prosperity.

“The report serves as a stark reminder that the fight against corruption cannot be won in the short term, and that the battle requires the sustained commitment on the part of the government and the general public, and full support from the international community,” concluded Mr. Yamamoto.

25 April 2017 – Undernutrition and obesity are the two sides of malnutrition, and together they contributed to the loss of billions of dollars for economies in Latin America, a United Nations-backed study has found, warning that unless more is done to mitigate this health burden, the region faces a “frightening” future.

The Cost of the Double Burden of Malnutrition, released yesterday, is the result of a partnership between the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and calculates losses in productivity, health and education in Chile, Ecuador and Mexico.

While undernutrition undermines physical growth and impairs brain development, overweight and obesity can lead to non-communicable diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Together, they inflict a ‘double burden’ on countries and people as they hinder the development of individuals, the well-being of communities and the goal of reaching Zero Hunger by 2030.

According to the study, gross domestic product (GDP) in each country shrinks every year as a result of losses is productivity caused by this double burden. Losses are estimated at $500 million in Chile, $4.3 billion in Ecuador and $28.8 billion in Mexico, which represent respectively 0.2 per cent, 4.3 per cent and 2.3 per cent loss of GDP.

“Over the last decade many middle income countries have made great inroads into reducing undernutrition. Yet the problem persists and we now witness a worrying trend among vulnerable communities with cases of undernourishment and overweight simultaneously within the same families,” said WFP Regional Director, Miguel Barreto.

“The double burden of malnutrition increasingly affects the poor and vulnerable population, thus becoming another cause for the current inequality in our region,” said ECLAC Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena.

The implications for the future of countries are frightening. According to the study, undernutrition is declining, but ‘overnutrition’ is expected to become the largest social and economic burden in the region. From 2014 to 2078, overweight and obesity are projected to cost on average $1 billion in Chile, $3 billion in Ecuador and $13 billion in Mexico per year respectively.

The study recommends measures to mitigate this burden; governments should promote consumer education through clear policies and incentives to ensure reliable food labelling, physical activity initiatives, and the support of community-based nutrition education programmes.

It encourages the food industry to work with governments to guarantee the production, availability, and accessibility of healthier food products, and to play a positive and responsible role in educating consumers on healthy food choices.

25 April 2017 – Almost 30,000 young Somali children, many of them displaced by a searing drought, are being vaccinated against measles this week in a United Nations-backed emergency campaign in one of the country’s hardest-hit towns.

“Among vaccine-preventable diseases, none is more deadly than measles,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative Steven Lauwerier in a news release.

Measles is a viral respiratory infection that spreads through air and contact with infected mucus and saliva, thrives in congested, unsanitary displacement camps.

Many children have never been immunized before as a decades-old conflict has made it difficult for health workers to reach remote areas from which they come.

So far this year, almost 5,700 cases of suspected measles have been reported across the country, more than the total number of cases in 2016.

More than 100,000 people have come to Baidoa, in Somalia’s south-western region, in search of assistance, including at least 70,000 in March alone.

The threat of famine once again looms large over Somalia. Up to a million children are, or will be, acutely malnourished this year, with one in five requiring life-saving treatment.

“And we know only too well from the 2011 famine that measles, combined with malnutrition and displacement, is an especially lethal combination for children,” said Mr. Lauwerier. “The only way to prevent sickness and death from measles is to make sure all children receive the vaccine.”

The Baidoa campaign is being conducted in partnership with Somalia’s Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and several non-governmental organizations.

Children are also given a vitamin A supplement to boost immunity as well as de-worming tablets.