17 September 2017 – As thousands of Rohingya refugees &#8211 including many children &#8211 having fled violence in Myanmar continue to arrive in Bangladesh, a United Nations-supported vaccination campaign has been initiated to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases.

According to a news release by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the agency and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health-led campaign targeting measles, rubella and polio to inoculate some 150,000 Rohingya children below the age of fifteen in 68 refugee settlements near the country’s border with Myanmar.

&#8220We are happy that we were able to initiate the immunization campaign so quickly to protect the population from a possible measles outbreak&#8221 said Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, the head of WHO in Bangladesh.

The seven-day campaign was planned by the UN health agency, which is also managing and monitoring its field implementation. UNICEF has provided vaccines, syringes and Vitamin A capsules.

&#8220Measles is a very infectious and dangerous disease during emergencies, especially for children who are already weak and malnourished,&#8221 added Edouard Beigbeder, the head of UNICEF in Bangladesh.

&#8220With thousands of children crossing the border every day, vaccination is crucial to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases.&#8221

RELATED: Rohingya crisis one of the fastest growing in recent years, warns UN refugee agency

In addition to the vaccination campaign, the two UN agencies are also helping the Government reinforce maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health services; renovate delivery and new-born care units; improve water, sanitation and hygiene in health facilities; and strengthen disease surveillance, early warning and health-related information systems.

According to estimates, more than 410,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, with children making up about 60 per cent of that number.

17 September 2017 – Ahead of a high-level United Nations meeting on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, the Organization’s Special Coordinator on the issue is urging global leaders to join the &#8220Circle of Leadership,&#8221 lend the political weight of their offices, and act &#8211 both at the national and international levels &#8211 to eradicate the scourge.

&#8220Sexual exploitation and abuse is not an issue that is only concerning peacekeeping or military or uniformed personnel, it is a scourge that exists everywhere across our system,&#8221 Jane Holl Lute, the Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse, said in an interview with UN News.

&#8220Through this initiative [we are] asking political leadership, to personally, associate with this agenda and lend the political weight of their office to its success.&#8221

The High-level Meeting on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, to be held on Monday at UN Headquarters on the eve of the high-level segment of the General Assembly’s 72nd session, will see Secretary-General António Guterres announce the Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in UN operations. The Circle will comprise Heads of State and Government committed to ending impunity and strengthening measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse in international deployments.

UN chief’s priority since assuming office

Combatting the scourge is one of the key priorities for Mr. Guterres, who since being elected to the position took a number of steps to stomp it out. In his first week in office, the UN chief established a special task force to look at the issue and to recommend concrete actions.

The matter was also the subject of his first report to UN Member States in March this year, in which, among other matters, he called for the High-level Meeting to make a political demonstration of solidarity with the Organization’s efforts to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse.

He also called for a system-wide Victims’ Rights Advocate, who will stand for the rights and dignity of victims alongside their need for assistance and attention in the wake of allegations and abuse.

The meeting will also introduce Jane Connors, the Victims’ Rights Advocate, who was appointed last month.

&#8220It will also present the state of the Secretary-General’s Trust Fund for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, and make an appeal for additional contributions, and we will also update Member States on the state of the compacts between them and the UN on more specific measures to combat sexual exploitation and abuse,&#8221 added the Special Coordinator.

Indicators of progress

Speaking on progress made in combatting sexual exploitation and abuse, Ms. Lute highlighted the appointment of the Victims’ Rights Advocate, as well as practical actions such as the use of a new, uniform information reporting form to consistently collect information, mandatory e-learning course, surveys and increased awareness.

Our systems are beginning to generate the kind of trust that we want them to generate so that people know if they bring an allegation forward, it will be handled discretely, humanely, and that we are seeking the appropriate and rapid justice for victims

But above all, the generation of a &#8220kind of trust&#8221 has been a key marker, stressed Ms. Lute.

&#8220On the ground we are seeing a few more cases being reported. We take that as a sign that our systems are beginning to generate the kind of trust that we want them to generate so that people know if they bring an allegation forward, it will be handled discretely, humanely, and that we are seeking the appropriate and rapid justice for victims,&#8221 she said.

Follow-up after the High-level Meeting

On actions following tomorrow’s meeting, Ms. Lute spoke of a follow-on consultation with civil society at which the UN will solicit views on what the Organization needs to do to visibly and tangibly achieve its goals, as well as what support they can provide to the UN.

The Special Coordinator also spoke of the personal commitment of the Secretary-General for the cause and his leadership at the highest level.

&#8220I think it is impossible to find someone in the UN system who does not know about this issue, and does not know about the importance the Secretary-General places on it, we need to translate that knowledge and awareness into action,&#8221 she underscored.