Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance approved on Thursday an investment of US$178 million over the next five years to establish a global stockpile of 500,000 doses of Ebola vaccines that have been “pre-qualified” by the World Health Organization –  WHO’s quality seal of approval that also makes vaccines and drugs eligible for preferential terms of purchase and use in countries. An additional US$11.6 million was allocated by the Gavi Board to fund three ongoing pilots for the world’s first malaria vaccine in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, to assess the feasibility of rolling out the vaccine more widely in Africa as part of national vaccine programmes.

“Let me highlight two decisions: first is the… creation of a new Gavi Support for Ebola programme, which includes creation of a global stockpile of WHO-prequalified Ebola vaccines,” Gavi CEO Seth Berkley announced in a press conference following the Board meeting in Delhi, India on Thursday.

“The second is the continuation of funding for the world’s first malaria vaccine, and this is funding for vaccine pilots that are taking place in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya, vaccinating about 360,000 children per year,” he added.

A healthcare worker gives a child a dose of the malaria vaccine, RTS,S.

The moves represent new strategic directions for the international private-public partnership, which until recently had focused mostly on strengthening routine vaccination systems in low- and lower-middle-income countries. While the organization currently manages the global Yellow Fever vaccine stockpile for outbreak response, and supports vaccines for eight other diseases, Berkley noted that this is the first time the Board has  supported creation of a stockpile for a brand-new vaccine for a disease such as Ebola, which will come with its own set of challenges.

As of now, only one Ebola vaccine, Ervebo, which is produced by Merck & Co. and received regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency just last month, followed by WHO prequalification approval , is eligible to be included in the global stockpile. But the stockpile, which will aim to hold at least 500,000 doses, may be expanded as new Ebola vaccines hit the market, Berkley said.

There there are currently 7 other candidate vaccines for the Zaire strain of Ebola, the most common strain of the virus, Berkley noted. A second Ebola vaccine candidate, developed by Johnson & Johnson, recently began clinical trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been wracked by an Ebola outbreak that lasted for more than a year, killing over 2000 people.

A second Board decision voted to continue Gavi’s support for landmark pilots of the world’s first malaria vaccine, RTS,S in Malawi, Kenya, and Ghana that began this year, aiming to assess the feasibility for rolling out the vaccine on a national scale in other African countries with a moderate- to high-malaria burden. The vaccine requires four separate doses, which can be difficult to deliver to populations with low access to health care.

From 2021 to 2023, Gavi will allocate US $11.6 million towards funding these pilots, which represents approximately 50% of the total funding needs. The remaining 50% will be funded by the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and Unitaid.

The two major decisions were made at the last meeting of the Gavi Board before the private-public partnership holds its next replenishment conference in London on June 4, 2020, hosted by the United Kingdom. The organization hopes to raise US $7.41 billion to fund its next cycle of activities from 2021-2023.

Gavi’s Two-Part Ebola Support Program

According to Berkley, Gavi’s new Ebola Support Program will be composed of two main components; managing a global stockpile of vaccine for future outbreaks, and looking into potential preventative use of the Ebola vaccine.

Countries that are eligible for Gavi vaccine donations, will be able to access the stockpile free of charge and will also receive support for operational costs. Non-Gavi-eligible countries can still access the stockpile but will need to eventually pay Gavi back for the vaccines and cover their own operational costs.

A health care worker preparing a dose of Ebola vaccine

The organization will also be looking into ways the Ebola vaccine can be used outside of outbreak settings. There have been 29 outbreaks of Ebola virus on record since the virus was first identified, although only the West African 2014-2016 outbreak and the ongoing outbreak in the DRC have surpassed 400 cases. Thus, it is unclear whether huge outbreaks would be the norm in the future, and Gavi must be prepared to take an “active learning agenda” in establishing its new Ebola support program, especially with an eye towards learning how best to carry out preventative vaccination, says Berkley.

Up until now, the candidate Ebola vaccines have only been used during the two recent big outbreaks, Berkley noted.  The Merck vaccine, and now the Johnson&Johnson candidate, have been deployed under “compassionate-use” protocols, which allow new health products that have demonstrated safety and efficacy but may not have finished full regulatory processes, to be used in emergency settings.

“The obvious countries [to consider for preventative vaccination] are those that have indigenous transmission of Ebola… We could also consider countries that have transmission of Ebola through travelers. We suspect it will include workers in hospitals, in front-line clinics, lab workers,” said Berkley.

Front-line health workers bore the brunt of the brutal outbreak in West Africa from 2014-2016, where its estimated that health care workers had more than 21 times the risk of contracting Ebola than the average person. Berkley said that preliminary modelling done by Gavi suggests that preventative vaccination in 10% of the healthcare workforce, targeting those working in areas likely to see outbreaks, might help protect those most at risk in a future outbreak, although more work needs to be done to clearly outline a preventative vaccination strategy.

 

Image Credits: WHO/M. Nieuwenhof, Twitter: @WHO.

Global progress against malaria continued to plateau in 2018 for the third year in a row, and the disease hit young children and pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa the hardest, according to the World Malaria Report 2019 released by the World Health Organization on Wednesday. Despite stalled progress at the global level, however, four new countries have successfully eliminated the disease in 2018 and 2019.

“We’re seeing encouraging signs, but the burden of suffering and death caused by malaria is unacceptable, because it is largely preventable. The lack of improvement in the number of cases and deaths from malaria is deeply troubling,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press release. “Pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable to malaria, and we cannot make progress without focusing on these two groups.”

A village malaria worker is testing a young child for malaria in Battambang Province, Cambodia.

In 2018, WHO estimates that there were 228 million cases of malaria globally, causing 405 000 deaths, as compared to 231 million cases and 435 000 deaths in 2017. A dramatic reduction in malaria incidence and mortality was seen through 2010 to 2015, but global progress against the disease has stalled since then.

The report underlines that malaria continues to strike particularly hard at pregnant women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa,, with an estimated 11 million pregnant women infected in 38 countries with moderate-to-high malaria transmission in that region alone in 2018. Malaria infection in pregnancy can cause a variety of complications, including malaria-related anemia, low birth weight, and even maternal death.

An estimated 24 million children in the region were infected last year with the deadliest strain of malaria – P. falciparum –  with at least half experiencing moderate anemia and 1.8 million experiencing severe anemia. Malaria-related severe anemia is still a major contributor to child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Funding for malaria control and elimination 2010-2018, by source of funds (constant 2018 US$)

The plateau in progress may in part be caused by the shortfall in malaria funding – the report estimates that funding towards malaria control and prevention fell to US$2.7 billion last year with governments of malaria-endemic countries contributing an estimated 30% of the pool, falling far short of the US$5 billion needed to fully fund WHO’s Global technical strategy for malaria 2016 – 2030.

On the flip side, a handful of low-burden countries have seen progress. In 2018, WHO certified that endemic malaria was successfully eliminated Paraguay and Uzbekistan. Algeria and Argentina were recognized for eliminating endemic malaria in early 2019, and China, El Salvador, Iran, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste reported zero indigenous cases. Progress to achieve a global milestone to certify at least 10 countries for the elimination of malaria by 2020 is also on track.

Large reductions in malaria were also seen in WHO’s Southeast Asian region, said Dr Abdisalan Noor, lead author of the report and team leader of the Surveillance Unit in WHO’s Global Malaria Programme, in a press conference. Significant reductions in India, which had 2.6 million fewer malaria cases than the previous year, accounted for a large share of the success. Progress has also been made in the Greater Mekong sub-region – an important strategic area as resistance to antimalarial medications has historically been traced back to the region.

Protecting Pregnant Women and Young Children

Coverage of pregnant women and children by malaria treatment and prevention interventions has increased in Africa, but these two groups continue to be the hardest hit by malaria.

“We have brought back the focus to the key populations at risk that suffer and carry the brunt of malaria; pregnant women and young children in Africa. And by highlighting this space, we also signal that they must become our number one priority in the fight against malaria,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme.

The WHO report estimates that in 2018, 67% of all malaria-related deaths occurred in children under 5, and malaria continues to be a leading cause of infection-related maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Now, [another] one of the consequences of malaria in pregnancy is children that are born with low birth weight, less than 2500 grams at birth,” Dr Noor clarified. Low birth weight is not only an immediate problem for the growth of the child, but is also “a significant predictor of early infant death,” he added. The WHO report estimates that of the 11 million cases of malaria in pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018,  872,000 children were born with low birth weight.

This is despite the fact that the number of pregnant women and children sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets and receiving preventative medicine for malaria has increased in recent years. An estimated 61% of pregnant women and children in sub-Saharan Africa slept under an insecticide-treated net in 2018 compared to 26% in 2010.  Among pregnant women in the region, coverage of the recommended 3 or more doses of intermittent preventative malaria treatment, delivered during antenatal care visits, increased from an estimated 22% in 2017 to 31% in 2018. Some 72% of eligible children received seasonal malaria prevention medication in 2018.

A new WHO-recommended strategy to prevent malaria in infants – intermittent preventative treatment for infants (IPTi) – recommends delivering anti-malarials to very young children through the immunization programme, and is being piloted in Sierra Leone.

“IPTi offers a tremendous opportunity to keep small children alive and healthy,” said Dr Alonso. “WHO welcomes Unitaid’s new drive, announced today, to accelerate the adoption and scale-up of IPTi in other malaria-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Some “Elimination by 2020” Targets May Be in Sight

 Despite little progress being made on the global scale, certain regions and countries are inching closer to eliminating malaria, defined as completely stopping endemic transmission within national or territorial borders. Globally, a total of 38 countries and territories have been certified malaria-free by WHO, with Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Algeria, and Argentina just added to that list between 2018 to 2019. WHO grants the malaria-free certification when a country proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous transmission of malaria has been interrupted for at least 3 consecutive years. At least 10 countries that are part of WHO’s “E-2020 initiative” are on track to reach the 2020 elimination milestone of the global strategy.

P. Falciparum cases in the Greater Mekong Subregion, 2010- 2018

The six countries of the Greater Mekong sub-region – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – have made significant progress. Across the subregion, there was an impressive 76% reduction in malaria cases and a 95% drop in deaths between 2010 and 2018. This includes a steep decline in cases of P. falciparum malaria, a primary target in view of the ongoing threat of antimalarial drug resistance.

Some 11 African countries and India account for approximately 70% of the world’s malaria burden – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. The WHO and Roll Back Malaria Partnership launched a “high burden high impact” (HBHI) approach in these countries in 2018. By November 2019, the HBHI approach had been initiated in nine high burden countries in Africa.

Image Credits: WHO/ V. Sokhin, WHO/World Malaria Report 2019.

Madrid – Exceptional global heat waves, retreating ice sheets and record sea levels – all driven by rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases – are the hallmark of the past decade as 2019 draws to a close, said the World Metereological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday.

The global average temperature in 2019 (January to October) was about 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. Average temperatures for the past ten years (2010-2019) are “almost certain” to be the highest on record, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a press conference here on the second day of the UN Climate Conference (COP25).  And 2019 is on course to be the second or third warmest year ever on record. His remarks were based upon a WMO provisional statement on the State of the Global Climate, released simultaneously.

 

Sea level rise has accelerated since the start of satellite measurements in 1993, because of the melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, according to the report.

The ocean, which acts as a buffer by absorbing heat and carbon dioxide, is paying a heavy price. Ocean heat is at record levels and there have been widespread marine heatwaves. Sea water is 26 percent more acidic than at the start of the industrial era. Vital marine ecosystems are being degraded, the WMO report finds.

The daily Arctic sea-ice extent minimum in September 2019 was the second lowest in the satellite record and October has seen further record low extents. In Antarctica, 2019 saw record low ice extents in some months.

All of these trends are directly linked to record levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which hit levels of 407.8 parts per million in 2018 and continued to rise in 2019. CO2 persists in the atmosphere for centuries, and for even longer in ocean waters, thus perpetuating temperature rise.

“If we do not take urgent climate action now, then we are heading for a temperature increase of more than 3°C by the end of the century, with ever more harmful impacts on human well-being,” said Taalas, in a press release that accompanied the report. “We are nowhere near on track to meet the Paris Agreement target.”

Record Carbon Dioxide Levels Causing More Floods, Heatwaves & Wildfires

“On a day-to-day basis, the impacts of climate change play out through extreme and “abnormal” weather. And, once again in 2019, weather and climate related risks hit hard. Heatwaves and floods which used to be “once in a century” events are becoming more regular occurrences. Countries ranging from the Bahamas to Japan to Mozambique suffered the effect of devastating  tropical cyclones. Wildfires swept through the Arctic and Australia,” Taalas added.

“One of the main impacts of climate change is more erratic rainfall patterns. This poses a threat to crop yields and, combined with population increase, will mean considerable food security challenges for vulnerable countries in the future,” he said.

The report gives extensive attention to the impacts of warming trends on human health, food security, migration, ecosystems and marine life, based on inputs from the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other United Nations partners.

Extreme heat conditions are taking an increasing toll on human health and health systems with greater impacts where there are aging populations, urbanization, urban heat island effects, and health inequities.  In 2018, a record 220 million more heatwave exposures by vulnerable persons over the age of 65 occurred, compared with the average for the baseline of 1986-2005.

Climate variability and extreme weather events are among the key drivers of the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe crises, according to the WMO report.

After a decade of steady decline, hunger is on the rise – with over 820 million people suffering from hunger in 2018.  Among 33 countries affected by food crises in 2018, climate variability and weather extremes are  the leading driver in 12 of the 26 countries at risk, and a compounding factor together with economic shocks and conflict in the other countries.

More than 10 million new internal displacements were recorded between January and June 2019, 7 million being triggered by events such as Cyclone Idai in southeast Africa, Cyclone Fani in south Asia, Hurricane Dorian in the Caribbean, flooding in Iran, the Philippines and Ethiopia, generating acute humanitarian and protection needs.  Detailed excerpts of impacts on health, food security and displacement are provided below, along with details of key climate and weather indicators of the broader trends.

Impacts on Health, Agriculture & Migration

In terms of inputs from other UN agencies, the WHO reports that in 2019, record-setting high temperatures from Australia, India, Japan, and Europe led to significant heat-related deaths and illness. In Japan, a major heat wave event affected the country in late July to early August 2019 resulting in over 100 deaths and 18,000 hospitalizations. Two heatwaves hit much of Europe in the summer of 2019, affecting southwestern to central Europe in June, followed by an even more powerful episode in late July, which affected much of central and western Europe. In the Netherlands, the heatwave was associated with 2 964 deaths, nearly 400 more deaths than during an average summer week.

Changes in climatic conditions since 1950 are also making it easier for the Aedes mosquito species to transmit dengue virus. The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, and about half of the world population is now at risk of infection. In 2019, the world experienced a large increase in dengue cases, compared with the same time period in 2018.

In terms of agriculture, FAO reports that the start of the seasonal rains was delayed in Southern Africa, and there were extensive dry periods.  As a result, regional cereal output is forecast to be about 8% below the five-year average with 12.5 million people in the region expected to experience severe food insecurity up until March 2020, an increase of more than 10% from the previous year.

Food security has also been deteriorating in several areas of Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda due to a poor rainy season. Overall, about 12.3 million people are food insecure in the Horn of Africa region. Between October and November 2019, Somalia was further affected by intense flooding. In Afghanistan, some  13.5 million people are  food insecure following severe flooding in March 2019, the worst such episode in a decade,  This follows  a period of severe drought in 2018 from which 22 out of 34 provinces are still recovering.

More than 10 million new weather and climate-related internal displacements were recorded between January and June 2019, the IOM reports, Of those, 7 million people were displaced by disasters such as Cyclone Idai in Southeast Africa, Cyclone Fani in South Asia, Hurricane Dorian in the Caribbean, as well as by flooding in Iran, the Philippines and Ethiopia. Overall, floods were the most commonly cited natural hazard contributing to displacement, followed by storms and droughts. Asia and the Pacific remains the world’s most disaster displacement-prone region due to both sudden and slow-onset disasters. The number of new displacements associated with weather extremes could more than triple to around 22 million by the end of 2019, the IOM predicts.

Ice Loss, Ocean Temperatures & Acidification  

The report provides detailed data on temperatures both at land as well as at sea. It notes that global mean temperature for the period January to October 2019 was 1.1 ± 0.1 °C above pre-industrial conditions (1850-1900).  2019 is expected to be the second or third warmest year on record. 2016, which began with an exceptionally strong El Niño, remains the warmest year. Since the 1980s, each successive decade has been warmer than the last.

In terms of the world’s major land masses, most land areas were warmer than the recent average, including South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, and the Arctic, with the U.S. state of Alaska was registering exceptionally warm temperatures in 2019. However, a large area of North America has been colder than the recent average.

In October 2019, the global mean sea level reached its highest value since the beginning of the high-precision records in the 1990s. More than 90% of the excess energy accumulating in the climate system as a result of increased concentrations of greenhouse gases goes into the ocean. In the decade 2009-2018, the ocean absorbed around 22% of the annual emissions of CO2, which helps to attenuate climate change.

But ocean temperatures also are rising. In 2019, ocean heat content continued at record or near-record levels, with the average for the year so far exceeding the previous record highs set in 2018. In 2019, the ocean has until now, on average, experienced around 1.5 months of unusually warm temperatures. More of the ocean had a marine heatwave classified as “Strong” (38%) than “Moderate” (28%). In the north-east Pacific, large areas reached a marine heatwave category of “Severe”.

A corresponding, continued long term decline of Arctic sea ice was confirmed in  September 2019, where the monthly average extent of ice (usually the lowest of the year) was the third lowest on record. Until 2016, Antarctic sea ice extent had shown a small long-term increase. In late 2016 this was interrupted by a sudden drop in extent to extreme values. Since then, Antarctic sea-ice extent has remained at relatively low levels. Total ice Mass Balance (TMB) for the Greenland Ice Sheet gives a net ice loss for September 2018 to August 2019 of 329 Gigatonnes (Gt).

Increasing CO2 concentrations also affect the chemistry of the ocean, accelerating acidification. Ocean observations have shown a decrease in the average global surface ocean pH at a rate of 0.017–0.027 pH units per decade since the late 1980s, as reported previously by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  That is equivalent to an increase in acidity of 26% since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

High impact events – Floods, Droughts, Heatwaves & Wildfires

The 12-month rainfall averaged over the contiguous United States for the period for July 2018 to June 2019 (962 mm) was the highest on record. The onset and withdrawal of the Indian Monsoon were delayed, causing a large precipitation deficit in June but an excess of precipitation in the following months.

Very wet conditions affected parts of South America in January. There was major flooding in northern Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil, with losses in Argentina and Uruguay estimated at US$2.5 billion.

The Islamic Republic of Iran was badly affected by flooding in late March and early April. Major flooding affected many hitherto drought-affected parts of east Africa in October and early November.

At the same time, drought affected many parts of southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific in 2019, associated in many cases with the strong positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole. Exceptionally dry conditions prevailed from mid-year onwards in Indonesia and neighbouring countries, as well as parts of the Mekong basin further north. Long-term drought conditions which had affected many parts of inland eastern Australia in 2017 and 2018 expanded and intensified in 2019. Averaged over Australia as a whole, January-October was the driest since 1902.

Dry conditions affected many parts of Central America. It was substantially drier than normal in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, until heavy rains in October. Central Chile also had an exceptionally dry year, with rainfall for the year to 20 November at Santiago only 82 mm, less than 25% of the long-term average.

Heatwaves

Two major heatwaves occurred in Europe in late June and late July. according to the report. In France, a national record of 46.0°C (1.9°C above the previous record) was set on 28 June. National records were also set in Germany (42.6°C), the Netherlands (40.7°C), Belgium (41.8°C), Luxembourg (40.8°C) and the United Kingdom (38.7°C), with the heat also extending into the Nordic countries, where Helsinki had its highest temperature on record (33.2°C on 28 July).

Australia had an exceptionally hot summer. The mean summer temperature was the highest on record by almost 1°C, and January was Australia’s hottest month on record. The heat was most notable for its persistence but there were also significant individual extremes, including 46.6°C at Adelaide on 24 January, the city’s highest temperature on record

In terms of forest fires, several high-latitude regions saw above-average activity, including Siberia (Russian Federation) and Alaska (US). There were wildfires in some parts of the Arctic – previously extremely rare events.

In South-East Asia, a severe drought in Indonesia and neighbouring countries led to the most significant fire season since 2015. The number of reported fires in Brazil’s Amazonia region was only slightly above the 10-year average, but total fire activity in South America was the highest since 2010, with Bolivia and Venezuela among the countries with particularly active fire years.

Tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone activity globally in 2019 was slightly above average. The Northern Hemisphere, to date, has had 66 tropical cyclones, compared with the average at this time of year of 56, although accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) was only 2% above average. The 2018-19 Southern Hemisphere season was also above average, with 27 cyclones.

Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique on 15 March as one of the strongest known on the east coast of Africa, resulting in many casualties and widespread devastation. Idai contributed to the complete destruction of close to 780 000 ha of crops in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, further undermining a precarious food security situation in the region. The cyclone also resulted in at least 50 905 displaced persons in Zimbabwe, 53 237 in southern Malawi and 77 019 in Mozambique. One of the year’s most intense tropical cyclones was Dorian, which made landfall with category 5 intensity in the Bahamas. The destruction was exacerbated as the cyclone was exceptionally slow-moving, remaining near-stationary for about 24 hours. Typhoon Hagibis made landfall west of Tokyo on 12 October, causing severe flooding.

The final State of the Climate report, with complete 2019 data, will be published in March 2020.  See video about the report here.

This article was published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalistic collaboration to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Madrid, Spain – Countries lack capacity and even more important, the money, to incorporate health factors into their climate action strategies – even though increased disease and deaths are one of the most immediate outcomes of climate change.

This is the key finding of a first-ever report by the World Health Organization that looks at how national health systems are responding to climate-related health threats that are affecting countries more frequently and with greater intensity, including food-borne and water-borne as well as vector-borne infectious diseases, as well as heat stress and extreme weather events.

Female solar engineers in India bring solar power to communities. Clean energy generates a double benefit for climate and health in terms of less air pollution.

The report, The WHO Health and Climate Change Survey Report – Tracking Global Progress – surveyed 101 countries, from high- to low-income economies across all regions of the world.

The findings show that while nearly half of the countries surveyed had developed a national health and climate change strategy or plan, less than one-fifth reported a high level of plan implementation, and fewer than 10% of countries said that they had resources to fully implement their plans.

“Countries are exposed to climate risks, they are vulnerable to health impacts and they are not receiving the support they need in order to protect people’s health,” said WHO’s Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, the second day of the UN Climate Conference in Madrid (COP25).

In addition to the direct impacts of climate change, Campbell-Lendrum noted that some 7 million people annually die from air pollution every year, “roughly the whole population of Madrid” and those deaths are “very closely linked to the climate crisis, as about two-thirds of the outdoor air pollution we experience is from  fossil fuel combustion.”

WHO has estimated that cutting carbon emissions to meet the climate goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement could save about a million lives a year worldwide by 2050 through reductions in air pollution alone. And the economic benefits of the health gains would be more than twice that of the costs of carbon reductions, he said.

“Climate change is not only racking up a bill for future generations to pay, it’s a price that people are paying for now with their health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in a press release on the new report. “It is a moral imperative that countries have the resources they need to act against climate change and safeguard health now and in the future.”

Among the countries that did conduct a climate and health assessment, the most common climate-sensitive health risks were identified by countries as heat stress, injury or death from extreme weather events, as well as food-, water- and vector-borne diseases (such as cholera, dengue or malaria). However, about 60% of countries responding reported that their assessment findings have had little or no influence on the allocation of human and financial resources needed to protect health from climate change.

Biggest Barrier is Finance

The biggest barrier, the survey found, was that countries have difficulties in accessing international climate finance for health-related climate plans and projects. Over 75% of the national health systems that responded to the survey, reported that they lacked information on climate finance opportunities.  Over 60% said that health actors were disconnected from climate finance processes, and over 50% said that health systems lacked capacity to even prepare proposals.

In terms of preventing future climate change, the report also notes that few countries have been able to take advantage of the synergies that exist between reducing carbon emission and reducing environmental contamination that harms health, particularly air pollution.

Fewer than 25% of countries surveyed reporting having clear collaborations between health sectors and other key sectors driving climate change, such as transport, power generation and domestic heat and power production.

Potential Health Gains of Climate Mitigation Rarely Counted 

Potential health gains that would result from cutting carbon emissions are rarely reflected in national climate commitments, with only one-fifth of Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) mentioning health in the context of emissions reductions and 1 in 10 NDCs specifically mentioning expected health gains.

The so-called “Nationally Determined Commitments,” the voluntary targets to which countries commit, are in fact the backbone of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement that aims to keep climate change below 2°C and 1.5°C, if at all possible.

While two-thirds of countries’ NDCs mention health in general terms, and the health sector is among the five sectors most often described as vulnerable to climate change, when it comes to concrete action, health is just not factored into the equation, the WHO report concludes.

“For the Paris Agreement to be effective to protect people’s health, all levels of government need to prioritize building health system resilience to climate change, and a growing number of national governments are clearly headed in that direction,” said Maria Neira, WHO’s Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, in the press release.

“By systematically including health in Nationally Determined Contributions – as well as National Adaptation Plans, climate finance pledges, and other National Communications to the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] — the Paris Agreement could become the strongest international health agreement of the century.”

Speaking at the press conference, Neira said that countries need to ensure that the health sector is included in climate change processes and that health ministries have the capacity and support to access the finance they need.

“The fact that the health impact is already felt by the countries but the finance is not reaching them,” said Neira, speaking at the press conference.

She added that the health sector was also calling on governments ” to be much more ambitious on tackling the causes of climate change because our health is at risk and our health is paying the price of not taking action on climate.”

From left-right, Jessica Beagley (Lancet Commission Countdown); Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum & Maria Neira (WHO).

Health Sector Involvement in Climate Response   

Collaboration on health and climate policy was greatest between the health sector and the water, sanitation and wastewater sector (45 out of 101 respondents), followed by agriculture (31 out of 101 respondents) and social services (26 out of 101 respondents). A quarter or less of countries reported having an agreement in place between the health sector and the transportation, electricity generation or household energy sectors.

While only 8 our of 45 countries reported a high level of implementation of national health and climate change strategies or plans, countries were being more proactive on certain issues. Some 61% of countries were implementing stronger systems of early warning and response to cope with flooding, 43% for heatwaves and 32% for air quality.

Although 48% of countries have assessed their public health risk to climate change 60% report that these findings have had little to no influence on the allocation of human and financial resources to meet their adaptation priorities for protecting health.

Half of the countries surveyed have developed a national health and climate change strategy or plan.  But less than 20% of countries reporting a high level of implementation.  Along with financing, other common barriers included: human resource constraints and lack of capacity, lack of prioritization; lack of multisectoral collaboration and a lack of tools, information systems and evidence for decision-making.

Only about 38% have national finances in place to even partially implement their national strategy of plan, and fewer than 10% have resources to implement it completely.

In terms of accessing international climate finance,  over 75% (35 of 46 respondents) reported a lack of information on opportunities, over 60% a lack of connection of health actors to the climate finance processes, and over 50% a lack of capacity to prepare proposals, the report found.

Campbell-Lendrum noted that the efforts need to be made by both the climate and health sectors to close the gap.  “The Green Climate Fund has identified health and well being as a focal area, they just haven’t funded any projects in that area yet.  So we need to work from both sides to make sure that the countries have the technical back- up to prepare their plans and then we have to be met from the other side.”

According to the UN Environment-hosted Climate and Clean Air Coalition, some countries have begun reporting on reductions of black carbon emissions – which are among the most health-harmful air pollutants – as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reducing climate change.

Unlike carbon dioxide, which persists in the atmosphere for hundreds of ;years, black carbon particles that are heavily emitted by diesel generators and vehicles as well as by primitive wood and biomass stoves, only remain airborne for a few days or weeks, and therefore reducing emissions can lead to rapid reductions in concentrations in the atmosphere.  Black carbon also comprises a significant portion of small particles, or PM2.5,  regarded as one of the most health-harmful air pollutants.

A 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), underlined that reducing emissions of black carbon and other so-called short-lived climate pollutants, such as ozone and methane, could help slow down the pace of climate change, buying the world critical time to shift to cleaner energy technologies.  However, many countries still lack the tools and awareness to clearly and quantitatively link their carbon reductions with reductions of black carbon and other air pollutants.

Conversely, the so-called health co-benefits that may be derived from climate action are not typically factored into climate assessments and financing processes, which right now focus on quantifying carbon emission cuts, as such, without regard for savings in lives or related health costs.

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This article was published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalistic collaboration to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Image Credits: DFID, WHO, E. Fletcher .

For the second year running, some 37 organizations have launched a week-long mini campaign to raise awareness and promote action against falsified and substandard medicines.  This year’s annual Fight the Fakes week aims to mobilize the public and international global health community to speak up more assertively about the growing threat of fake or substandard medicines under the theme “Be Aware, Speak Up, Fight the Fakes.”

“Poor-quality care is now as big a barrier to reducing mortality than insufficient access to healthcare. This is why ensuring high-quality medicines reach patients should be a key component of Universal Health Coverage initiatives,” said Grey Perry, assistant director-general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), a founding member of the campaign.

Drugs that deliberately misrepresent their identity and medicines that do not meet regulatory or quality specifications are particularly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, where an estimated 1 in 10 medical products is falsified or substandard, according to a 2017 report by the World Health Organization.

But the problem can affect higher income regions too. A medical product alert issued earlier this year by the WHO found that a falsified version of the leukemia medication ICLUSIG containing none of the active cancer-fighting agent Ponatinib hydrochloride had been circulating in the WHO Region of the Americas as well as in WHO’s European Region.

There is also evidence that take and substandard products can fuel illicit trade, as well as organized crime, which has broader social and economic implications, according to a report released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in June. The report estimates that consumers in Southeast Asia alone spend between US$20 million and US$2.6 billion a year on falsified medicines.

Legitimate pharmaceutical producers in countries such as China and India often outsource parts of their drug production process to manufacturers in countries with weaker regulatory requirements, and that can lead to substandard medications, says the UN Office on Drugs and Crime report. The rapid proliferation of online pharmacies has also facilitated the trade of substandard and falsified medications, the report finds.

The Fight the Fakes campaign has received support from industry, product development partnerships, and civil society actors alike, who say that addressing the issue of falsified and substandard drugs is paramount to ensuring that patients have access to safe and quality essential medicines.

“The risk [of falsified and substandard medicines] concerns everyone in every corner of the world,” said the World Heart Federation’s Director of Partnerships and Programmes, Andrea Vassalotti.

Individual and Societal Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products

Antibiotics and antimalarials are among the most frequently reported falsified medical products – accounting for almost 65% of all products reported to WHO.

This also contributes to the growing resistance of many bacteria and parasites to commonly used drugs – known as antimicrobial resistance. Many falsified or substandard antibiotics or antimalarials do not contain the proper dose of the active ingredient. When ingested by patients, exposure to lower doses of the active ingredient allows pathogens to develop resistance to the drug. Although the extent of the effect is unclear, WHO has listed drug resistance driven by subpar medications as a global concern in its 2017 review, A study on the public health and socioeconomic impact of substandard and falsified medical products.

While antibiotics and antimalarials represent the lion’s share of reported falsified and substandard medical products, fake and substandard medicines for other life-threatening illnesses such as rabies, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and HIV are also present on the market. This year so far WHO issued 11 alerts for falsified medical products that have been circulating in certain countries and globally.

Confirmed falsified hydrochlorothiazide 50mg

These medications at best fail to have any impact on the disease they purport to treat, and at worst contain other compounds that can have devastating consequences on individuals’ health.

In March, a falsified medication claiming to contain hydrochlorothiazide, a medicine used to control hypertension, caused blood sugar levels to crash in a number of patients who were prescribed the medication in Cameroon. According to the WHO alert on the product, the medication instead contained glibenclamide, an antidiabetic medication, and was the cause of the hypoglycaemia experienced by patients.

“Currently, cases come to light when high numbers of people are affected by very severe or unusual suspected side effects,” said Oksana Pyzik, senior teaching fellow at the University College London and founder of UCL’s Fight the Fakes chapter.

The combined effects of exposure to substandard and falsified medicines can also erode public trust in health authorities and health systems, mistrust that is already fueled by a growing anti-vaccination movement, said Pyzik.

“We have entered an interesting time in history where trust of science, fact and authority has never been so fragile, fleeting and called into question… As such leading health authorities cannot afford any further dents in credibility that damage trust in health systems,” she added.

“Awareness of the issue remains low amongst health care professionals (HCPs) and the general public globally. Education and training of HCPs, alongside wider campaign efforts such as Fight the Fakes, are of paramount importance to improve reporting rates of substandard and falsified medical products by pharmacists and patients,” said Pyzik.

As part of this year’s Fight the Fakes campaign, partners of the movement have organized events around the world, including a series of events at UCL, a photo competition hosted by the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation, and a panel that will be co-hosted by IFPMA and the Graduate Institute in Geneva on Friday.

Image Credits: WHO, WHO, Sanofi.

[Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative]

Geneva, Switzerland (29 November 2019) – The Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla has announced their commitment to price the ground-breaking new product Quadrimune, a “4‑in‑1” treatment for young children with HIV, at below a dollar a day. Quadrimune is currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in children between 3 and 25 kg bodyweight.

This pleasant tasting, heat-stable fixed-dose combination of four antiretrovirals (ARVs) for infants and young children with HIV was developed in partnership by Cipla and the not-for-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) with financial support from Unitaid and other donors. If it receives FDA tentative approval in 2020, the 4-in-1 will represent a major improvement in the treatment of HIV in very young children and will replace older, bitter-tasting medicines, medicines requiring refrigeration, or regimens that are no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Demonstration of how to administer Quadrimune, a “4-in-1” treatment for young children with HIV

‘Cipla is happy that over the past 20 years it has contributed to making adult antiretroviral drugs available at affordable prices for patients throughout the developing world, in particular Africa, and has pioneered the development of paediatric fixed-dose combinations of ARVs for children,’ said Dr Yusuf K Hamied, Chairman of Cipla. ‘Over the years, the treatment of children with HIV has been neglected. In order to ensure faster access, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, our product Quadrimune, once approved, will be offered for less than one dollar a day for children.’

‘Children living with HIV have been neglected for too long, with the recommended treatment for years consisting of a bitter-tasting syrup with 40% alcohol content,’ said Dr Bernard Pécoul, Executive Director of DNDi. ‘Mothers were often forced to bury the syrup in the sand to keep it cool, because it required refrigeration. The new Quadrimune is pleasant-tasting, heat-stable, and easy-to-use. We will finally have a treatment designed specifically for infants and young children, who are at the highest risk of dying if they do not receive treatment.’

It is estimated that 1.8 million children are living with HIV, almost 90% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Only an estimated 54% of these children have access to HIV treatment and over 300 children still die from the disease every day. Inappropriate, suboptimal treatment options have contributed to low treatment coverage.

Cipla will provide Quadrimune at an ex-factory price of US$ 15 per pack of 120 capsules, giving a price of $1 per day ($360 per year) for children in the medium weight bracket of 10 to 13.9 kg, with prices lower, at 50 US cents per day, for younger children and infants. Quadrimune contains the WHO-recommended ARVs abacavir, lamivudine, lopinavir, and ritonavir in the form of granule-filled capsules. If approved, parents and caretakers will be able to administer the drugs to children by sprinkling the granules on soft food, water, or milk. The 4-in-1 does not require refrigeration and is easy to administer to infants and children of different weights and ages.

‘This optimal child-adapted all-in-one ARV regimen, that meets WHO recommendations, will be a game-changer for millions of infants and young children,’ Unitaid Executive Director Lelio Marmora said. ‘Unitaid is proud to have supported from day one the development of this new 4-in-1 treatment that is safe and effective, adapted and palatable, easy-to-use and with no requirement for refrigeration. Once adopted, this innovative formulation will enable great advances in the treatment of the youngest kids.’

Since 2013, WHO has recommended regimens that include a class of ARVs called protease inhibitors, which includes lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), for infants and young children. Cipla and DNDi worked closely to develop Quadrimune, testing over 30 formulations of abacavir, lamivudine, and LPV/r, ensuring good taste-masking, and selecting one which met the standards required to enable regulatory submission.

The 4-in-1 could be the first of several new treatment options now on the horizon for young children with HIV.

 

Image Credits: Emmanuel Museruka/DNDi.

Madrid – UN Secretary General António Guterres said he is more hopeful about obtaining commitments on climate action from the world’s largest carbon emitters, following the European Commission’s announcement of plans for a European “green pact” – committing Europe to dramatic reductions in its carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

Guterres spoke here at a press conference on Monday, the opening day of the 25th UN Climate Conference (COP25), in a joint appearance with the President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez.

“We see already the very strong determination from many governments, but also from many actors in the business community, in the financial community, civil society, in cities and regions. We see a lot of commitment. The problem is that the most important emitters, the countries that have the largest emissions of greenhouse gases are lagging behind,” Guterres said.

UN Secretary General António Guterres (right) with Spanish President Pedro Sánchez.

“However, something very important has happened today, where the president of the European Commission has announced that the Commission will present a green pact, and that Europe will be determined to create the conditions for carbon neutrality in 2050, and for dramatic reductions in emissions from 2020 and 2030 – the conditions that are needed to reach 1.5 °C degrees at the end of the century,” Guterres said.

European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen has said that she wants to lead the way for a “green new deal” in Europe, and last week the European Parliament gave her resounding support, declaring a climate emergency. The Parliament called for a 55% reduction in European carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

“I believe with Europe in this position, there is potential for successful negotiation with other key actors, be it the United States, China, India and Japan, and we need that negotiation…in 2020 in order to make sure that we are able to effectively defeat climate change,” Guterres said.

He added that the struggle will not, however, only be waged among governments.  “This is also an issue for public opinion, youth, the business community, civil society, cities and regions. We see everywhere a new dynamism a new determination that makes me be hopeful. I am hopeful but not yet entirely sure because there is still a long way to go and we are still running behind climate change,” he added.

Guterres praised Spain for the “exemplary” job in organizing the conference in “record time” after the original host, Chile, announced in late October that it couldn’t hold the event in Santiago due to prolonged civil unrest that has wracked the country.  Guterres added that the Spanish offer to host the conference on behalf of Chile was an “impeccable demonstration of the multilateralism” needed for a positive outcome on the climate agenda as well.

Spain has also been a leader in action on climate and social welfare agenda, Guterres noted, adding that the welfare benefits of climate action in terms of both jobs creation and social equity needs more emphasis in the climate debate.

‘”Better to subsidize families in need rather than subsidize fossil fuels,” Guterres said, noting that new taxes on carbon could help “support a just transition” to a green economy.

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This article was published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalistic collaboration to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Image Credits: E. Fletcher .

African leaders, scientists, and activists are mobilizing to address the scientific, political, and social challenges inherent to ending the HIV epidemic. That was the key message as the 20th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) kicked off on Monday in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme, “AIDS-free Africa: Innovation, Community and Political Leadership.”

“HIV, Hepatitis B and syphilis are all endemic in Africa. All three can be maternally transmitted; are devastating; take a heavy toll on health systems, with catastrophic expenditures for families leading to poverty in our communities. And all three can be prevented,” said World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the conference opening ceremony.

(back row, left-right) Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Rwandan First Lady Jeannette Kagame WHO Director General Dr Tedros, and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima along with other First Ladies of African States (first row) at the ICASA 2019 Opening Ceremony.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame added that AIDS is an “epidemic without borders.” In a brief opening statement, the president of the host country highlighted a number of key challenges that the HIV/AIDS response faces – themes around which the conference has organized.

When it comes to sexually-transmitted infections, Kagame said, stigma and silence “are the real killers, just as much as the underlying virus.”  Stigma discourages people with STIs, including people with HIV, from seeking life-saving care, he explained.

On the care provision side, sustained investment in strengthening health systems is needed to “win the fight” against HIV/AIDS, and “build the resilience required to handle other challenges down the line,” he said.

He stressed the importance of “good politics and good governance,” highlighting that governments in Africa must prioritize domestic financing for healthcare, investing in infrastructure, technology, and a highly-skilled medical and administrative workforce. Additionally, investment in community health workers can help build trust in the health system so that citizens will to “act on health guidelines from public institutions and change their behavior accordingly.”

The conference is organized along three thematic tracks that address the major opportunity areas for improving HIV/AIDS response. A scientific track features sessions that focus on tools for HIV prevention and treatments regimens, including topics such as “operationalizing the implementation of innovative biomedical prevention such as PrEP, microbicides, and long-acting antiretrovirals.”

A second track focuses on leadership and issues around the political mobilization required in the fight against HIV/AIDs, including sessions such as “Stronger positioning of women leadership in Africa in the HIV response.” A third stream focuses on community-based work in the HIV response, with sessions such as “accessing services for people living with disabilities.”

The six-day conference is co-sponsored by the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) and the Government of Rwanda, and runs from December 2-7. Co-organized by WHO, UNAIDS, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), as well as the pharmaceutical companies Gilead and Mylan, it brings together thousands of delegates to share lessons learned and chart the way forward for reaching the 90-90-90 UNAIDS targets for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) on the African continent. Those targets aim to ensure that by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will be have the virus supressed.

 

Image Credits: Twitter: @DrTedros.

WHO and its partners have evacuated Ebola response workers in the Biakato Mines Area of the Democratic Republic of Congo following two deadly attacks on Wednesday night that left 4 Congolese staff dead, and 6 staff wounded – including a WHO staff member. The scale back of the Ebola response raises the possibility of a resurgence of the Ebola virus just as the outbreak that has been raging for over a year appeared to be nearly vanquished.

“We are heartbroken that people have died in the line of duty as they worked to save others,” said World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press release as well as videotaped remarks. “Ebola was retreating. These attacks will give it force again, and more people will die as a consequence.”

Only seven confirmed cases were reported between 18 to 24 November, down dramatically from a peak of 120 cases per week in April and a second peak of 85 cases per week in July.

Peacekeepers from the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on patrol in DRC’s IIturi Province to deter activities by militias that have targeted Ebola response teams. (Photo: MONUSCO)

But with the attacks on health workers in the Biakato Mines area, the latest event in a rash of violence in eastern DRC, critical outbreak response activities have been suspended in many areas where the threat of the virus still lingers.

“It will be a tragedy to see more unnecessary suffering in the communities that have already been through so much. Without responders, the virus spreads through the community undetected and uninterrupted,” Mike Ryan, WHO’s Emergency Ebola Coordinator told a Geneva press conference.

The interruption of the outbreak response has led to an over 50% decrease in alerts of suspected cases, a collapse in vaccination efforts, and a decrease in contact-tracing, said Ryan. These, he added, were “all of the key indicators that point towards ending the outbreak.” Case-management of Ebola patients, safe and dignified burials, and a very limited alert system continue in the Biakato Mines area.

He emphasized that this has been the deadliest attack of the Ebola outbreak so far, with the violence claiming the lives of one health worker responsible for immunizations  and two drivers in Biakato, as well as one policeman in nearby Mangina who was involved in security the Ebola response teams. In total, the WHO has recorded over 386 attacks against Ebola responders during this outbreak alone, resulting in 77 injuries, and 7 deaths.

“My heart goes out to the family and friends of the first responders killed in these attacks,” said WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti. “We are doing everything possible to bring the injured and front-line workers in the impacted areas to safety. These constant attacks must stop. We will continue to work with the DRC Government, partners and [UN peacekeeping troops] MONUSCO to ensure the security of our staff and other health workers.”

Tragedy On The Brink Of Ending The Outbreak

Surges of violence and unrest have been a frequent feature of this latest Ebola outbreak in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, which began in August of 2018. The latest attack comes just days after WHO was forced to evacuate 49 of its 120 staffers in Beni, following civil unrest there that led to angry attacks on the MONUSCO base, which in response to an attack by the rebel Allied Democratic Forced (ADF) on civilians that left at least 19 dead and many more displaced.  Protesters in Beni said that they were frustrated that MONUSCO had failed to protect them from rebel militias.

Ebola case map as of Nov 14, 2019. The epicenter in Mandima Health District has been the Biakato Mines area, the source of about half of recently reported cases. (Map by: EU Humanitarian Aid – @eu_echo)

As for the attack on Biakato Mines, Ryan noted that it was “unmistakably directed at the [Ebola] response.” He said it was unclear exactly who perpetrated the attack, although local officials told TRT World that Mai-Mai fighters had attacked the camp.

With the rash of violence, Ryan told reporters that WHO had lost access to “key communities” not only in Biakato Mines, but also in nearby Oicha, Lwemba and Beni where some of the last known Ebola chains of transmission had persisted.

Until very recently, some 98% of the known Ebola cases had been traced back to two chains of transmission involving those areas, but the suspension of activities due to the recent attacks could result in “losing some of those gains,” Ryan said. “The last stronghold of the virus was in these very areas, and now because of violence, because of insecurity, we’ve lost access to these communities.”

While no cases have been reported from the Biakato Mines area itself in almost two weeks, the risk of resurgence there and in the surrounding area remains high, says Ryan, noting that cases in Beni and Oicha had been previously traced back to Biakato Mines.

The Biakato Mines health centre also serves the Lwemba health area, he noted, and the Lwemba area has been one of the “most complex and difficult contexts, both in terms of disease transmission and community acceptance.” Without teams on the ground, Lwemba has become even more inaccessible, says Ryan.

Throughout the response, community acceptance and community engagement have been major challenges. But recently, more and more people suspected of having Ebola had been actively seeking treatment at Ebola Treatment Units.

“Just yesterday, a pastor and his family from Lwemba presented themselves for care at an Ebola Treatment Unit,” said Ryan. “The real tragedy is also losing access to those communities, just at the moment where their views and attitudes were turning,.”

Insecurity and Violence Hindering the Outbreak Response

The insecurity has been attributed to the multitude of armed groups in eastern DRC – estimated at around 100.  WHO has long warned that the militias’ presence has significantly complicated the work of Ebola responders who have to be deeply embedded in the community to trace and vaccinate individuals who have come into contact with infected individuals.

To date, 2,199 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak, among 3303 probable and confirmed cases, according to DRC officials.  Ebola is endemic to the region, and this represents the 10th outbreak, but also the most deadly, since the disease was identified in the 1970s.

See Video of Dr. Tedros’ remarks below:

 

Image Credits: @eu_echo, Monusco .

The European Parliament on Thursday declared a “climate and environmental emergency” in Europe and globally – calling on EU Member States to meet a target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as well as phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in 2020.

The Parliament called on new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to include the 55% GHG reduction target into a planned series of measures for a “European Green Deal.” A formal EU strategy to reach climate neutrality as soon as possible, and by 2050 at the latest, should be submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Parliament said. The Parliament also asked the European Commission to ensure that all legislative and budgetary proposals fully align with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1.5 °C.

Photo credit: ©123RF/EU–EP

The Parliamentary moves come just ahead of the UNFCCC Climate Conference that begins Monday in Madrid, and just on the heels of the latest UN Emissions Gap Report, which projects that even if all of the current commitments made under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement are met, global temperatures will rise by 3.2°C by the end of the century, bringing even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts.

The report Tuesday by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report warns that unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year between 2020 and 2030, the world will fail to meet the Paris Agreement target to keep warming to 1.5°C.

“For ten years, the Emissions Gap Report has been sounding the alarm – and for ten years, the world has only increased its emissions,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a press release. “There has never been a more important time to listen to the science. Failure to heed these warnings and take drastic action to reverse emissions means we will continue to witness deadly and catastrophic heatwaves, storms and pollution.”

Reduce Emissions From Aviation and Shipping – Increase Financial Support 

In Thursday’s European Parliament decision, members of parliament also said that EU countries should more than double their contributions to the international Green Climate Fund, to fully comply with international commitments to finance the fund, which supports climate mitigation in low income countries. EU member states are already the largest providers of public climate finance however pledges by developed countries have so far fallen short of the global goal of US$100 billion per year by 2020.

“The European Parliament has just adopted an ambitious position in view of the upcoming COP 25 in Madrid. Given the climate and environmental emergency, it is essential to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030. It also sends a clear and timely message to the Commission a few weeks before the publication of the Communication on the Green Deal” Pascal Canfin, French chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, was quoted as saying on the EU Parliamentary website.

Members noted that aviation and international shipping sectors, in particular, need to make further reductions and that all EU countries should include emissions targets for both in their nationally determined  contributions (NDCs), the voluntary commitments system created by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

UN Environment Emissions Gap Report 2019 

As for the latest UN Emissions Gap Report, it concludes that based on present trends, national commitments to emissions reductions must increase at least fivefold to keep temperatures below 1.5°C goal and threefold to meet the goal of an average 2°C rise in temperatures.

The report assesses the gap between current emissions levels, national commitments for emissions reductions by 2030, and what would actually be needed to meet the 1.5°C and 2°C targets of the Paris Agreement. This year’s report found that emissions in 2018, including from land-use changes such as deforestation, hit a new high of 55.3 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent. Over the past decade, greenhouse gas emissions have risen 1.5 per cent annually.

To limit temperatures to the 2°C goal, annual emissions in 2030 would need to reduce climate emissions by 15 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent below that of existing national commitments (NDCs) by UN member states. Annual emissions by 2030 would need to be 32 gigatonnes lower in order to meet the 1.5°C goal. On an annual basis, this means cuts in emissions of 7.6 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 to meet the 1.5°C goal and 2.7 per cent per year for the 2°C goal.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that temperature rise beyond 1.5°C will increase the frequency and intensity of climate impacts, in unforeseen ways.

“Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we now must deliver deep cuts to emissions – over 7 per cent each year, if we break it down evenly over the next decade,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director, in the UNEP press release. “This shows that countries simply cannot wait until the end of 2020, when new climate commitments are due, to step up action. They – and every city, region, business and individual – need to act now.”

“We need quick wins to reduce emissions as much as possible in 2020, then stronger Nationally Determined Contributions to kick-start the major transformations of economies and societies. We need to catch up on the years in which we procrastinated,” she added. “If we don’t do this, the 1.5°C goal will be out of reach before 2030.”

The world’s largest economies – G20 nations – collectively account for 78 per cent of all emissions, but only five G20 members have committed to a long-term zero emissions target, UNEP says.

In the short-term, developed countries will have to reduce their emissions quicker than developing countries, UN leaders have stressed. However, as emissions from China as well as other emerging economies rise sharply, the new message has been that countries at all economic levels need to pull together, and developing countries can even leapfrog over polluting technologies and adopt cleaner technologies at a faster rate.

The report also focuses on the potential of selected sectors to deliver emissions cuts. This year’s report looks in depth at the potential of energy efficiencies in the use of materials for buildings, construction and industry, which make significant contributions to closing the emissions gap.

 

 

Image Credits: ©123RF/EU–EP, UN Environment Programme .