Humanitarian Aid
The UN emergency food relief agency is providing vital assistance to communities affected by the severe flooding in
northeast Bangladesh, the agency said on Monday.
About 1.4 million people are estimated to have been left in dire straits, as heavy rains lashed Sylhet and Sunamganj
districts, as well as areas upstream, in India.
“Our priority is to ensure that the most vulnerable families, who were already facing hardships and are now having their
lives and livelihoods upended again by the floods, can meet their essential food and nutritional needs,” said Simone
Parchment, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Bangladesh Deputy Country Director.
The agency’s field office in Sylhet, is supporting Government-led relief efforts, distributing fortified biscuits to
over 23,000 families to help them meet their immediate needs.
WFP also plans to provide cash assistance to these 23,000 and an additional 48,000 households it pre-identified as part
of its preparedness efforts.
Further heavy rains are forecast in the affected regions and adjoining catchment areas over the coming days, which could
worsen the flood situation, according to reports.World of sports is not immune from human rights challenges: UN rights chief
Despite the sporting ideal of equality and fair opportunities, athletes encounter many forms of rights violations and
abuses, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk warned on Monday.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, just weeks from the beginning of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Mr. Türk
insisted that “mega sporting events” with “enormous” reach such as the football World Cup, and the Olympic and
Paralympic games should serve as platforms to advocate against inequalities.
“The world of sports is not immune from human rights challenges, including when mega events are organized. And some
worrying issues are more visible than others,” Mr. Türk said.
Among these issues, Mr. Türk highlighted racist or sexist incidents, abuse, violence against women, corruption,
discrimination on the basis of religion or religious attire, disability, nationality, or sexual orientation and gender
identity.
Mr. Türk welcomed the decision of some businesses in the sports world to align their practices with the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights.
He said that human rights policies and grievance mechanisms are increasingly being included in large-scale sport events,
referring to a case in Spain where football fans were punished for racially abusing the Brazilian forward Vinicius
Junior.WHO supports vaccination campaign in Angola
In health news, authorities in Angola, supported by UN agencies, have initiated a vaccination campaign to curb the
spread of polio and protect children from childhood paralysis.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis
within hours. While there is no cure for polio, it can be prevented through vaccination.
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), which is supporting the Government, the central objective of the
campaign is to increase the immunity of children under five to quickly interrupt the virus’s transmission in the
country.
The programme aims to achieve at least 95 percent vaccination coverage in all districts, identify suspected cases, and
raise awareness of routine vaccination.
Vaccination teams will go from house to house to ensure that no child is left unvaccinated, and fixed posts will be
available in highly populated areas.
The first round of the vaccination campaign in May 2024 successfully vaccinated over 5.5 million children across the
country, covering the entire target group at risk.
In the second round of the vaccination campaign, as in previous initiatives, vaccination teams will continue their
house-to-house efforts, and fixed posts will be available in health facilities, markets, churches, schools, nurseries,
and other places of high population concentration, WHO said