Page 12 - aruba-today-20200911

A12 HEALTH
Friday 11 September 2020
U.N.: COVID-19 could fuel more conflict, poverty, starvation

By EDITH M. LEDERER tion about the pandemic,"
Associated Press DiCarlo said. "And there
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — has been a rise in stigma
Top U.N. officials warned and hate speech, espe-
Wednesday that the CO- cially against migrants and
VID-19 pandemic has ag- foreigners." During the pan-
gravated discrimination demic, U.N. peacekeeping
and other human rights vio- chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix
lations that can fuel con- said the U.N.'s far-flung mis-
flict, and its indirect con- sions, with over 100,000 per-
sequences are dwarfing sonnel, "continued to pre-
the impact of the virus itself vent and respond to threats
in the world's most fragile to civilians, which have un-
countries. fortunately not decreased
U.N. political chief Rose- in the past six months de-
mary DiCarlo and U.N. spite the secretary-gener-
humanitarian chief Mark al's global cease-fire call."
Lowcock painted a grim He singled out continued
picture to the U.N. Security violence in Mali, Central Af-
Council of the global im- rican Republic and Congo.
pact of the pandemic that Lacroix told the council
has blanketed the world, the responses to COVID-19
with over 26 million con- have been criticized in
firmed cases of COVID-19 Palestinian elementary school students wearing protective face masks, amid the coronavirus some countries, "resulting
and more than 860,000 pandemic, enter school on the first day of class at United Nations-run school in the West Bank city in heightened political ten-
of Ramallah, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020.
deaths. Associated Press sions in the areas of opera-
Lowcock warned the tion of some peacekeep-
council that the indirect ing being quarantined or and Ukraine to the Philip- have not been transparent ing missions." And he said
economic and health ef- fearing they won't get use- pines and Cameroon. about its impact," adding the pandemic's impact
fects from the crisis in frag- ful medical treatment, he "However, many expired that "reports of corruption has slowed down the im-
ile countries "will be higher said. without extensions, result- related to COVID-19 re- plementation of peace
poverty, lower life expec- "The better news is that it ing in little improvement on sponses are accentuating agreements and transi-
tancy, more starvation, less seems possible that the fa- the ground," the undersec- this trend." As for growing tions, pointing to South Su-
education and more child tality rate from COVID-19 retary-general for political human rights challenges dan as an example.
death." may be lower in these frag- and peace-building affairs during the pandemic, Di- Lowcock, the undersecre-
He said roughly a third of ile countries than initially said. Carlo pointed to increased tary-general for humanitar-
the cases and fatalities are feared," he said, but the in- Still, U.N. envoys are pursu- discrimination including in ian affairs, said the main
in countries affected by direct impact is greater. ing Guterres' call for peace access to health services, indirect effects of the pan-
humanitarian or refugee DiCarlo said Secretary- negotiations and cease- surging violence against demic on fragile countries
crises, or those facing high General Antonio Guterres' fires in conflict-torn Yemen, women particularly in the are economic — weak-
levels of vulnerability. But March 23 call for a glob- Libya, Syria and elsewhere, home during lock-downs, ening commodity prices,
the full extent isn't known al cease-fire to deliver DiCarlo said. She said an- and "growing limitations declining remittances, dis-
because testing in these life-saving aid during the other potential driver of being placed on the me- ruptions to trade, and lock-
fragile countries is very low pandemic had an en- instability is people's per- dia, civic space and free- down measures making it
and in some places many couraging initial response, ception that "authorities dom of expression." harder for people to sur-
people are reluctant to with temporary truces an- have not addressed the "Social media platforms are vive, especially day labor-
seek help, perhaps fear- nounced from Colombia pandemic effectively or used to spread disinforma- ers and many women.q

Vaccine trial stopped after neurological symptoms detected

said Thursday. The study vaccine was initially devel- 30,000 people in the U.S.
participant in late-stage oped by Oxford University for its largest study of the
testing reported symptoms after the coronavirus pan- vaccine. It also is testing
consistent with transverse demic began this year. the vaccine in thousands
myelitis, a rare inflamma- Kent said an independent of people in Britain, and in
tion of the spinal cord, said committee was reviewing smaller studies in Brazil and
company spokesman Mat- the study's safety data be- South Africa. Several other
thew Kent. fore deciding if and when COVID-19 vaccine candi-
"We don't know if it is (trans- the research could con- dates are in development.
verse myelitis)," Kent said. tinue. The study was pre- Dr. Soumya Swaminathan,
"More tests are being done viously stopped in July for the World Health Organiza-
now as part of the follow- several days after a partici- tion's chief scientist, said the
This Saturday, July 18, 2020 file photo shows a general view up." On Tuesday, Astra- pant who got the vaccine U.N. health agency wasn't
of AstraZeneca offices and the corporate logo in Cambridge, Zeneca said its "standard developed neurological overly concerned by the
England.
Associated Press review process triggered a symptoms; it turned out to pause in the Oxford and
pause to vaccination to al- be an undiagnosed case AstraZeneca vaccine trial,
By MARIA CHENG cine developed severe low review of safety data." of multiple sclerosis that describing it as "a wake-up
AP Medical Writer neurological symptoms It did not provide any de- was unrelated to the vac- call" to the global commu-
LONDON (AP) — A woman that prompted a pause in tails other than to say a cine. nity about the inevitable
who received an experi- testing, a spokesman for single participant had an Late last month, Astra- ups and downs of medical
mental coronavirus vac- drugmaker AstraZeneca "unexplained illness." The Zeneca began recruiting research. q