The Secretary-General’s envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council on Thursday that COVID-19 continues to have a severe effect on Palestinians, urging increased support for vaccination efforts.
The disease is a highly “persistent health threat” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), according to UN Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland, with new cases growing dramatically in the West Bank in recent weeks. Although the number of cases in Gaza remains low, it has increased recently.
Mr. Wennesland, who presented his latest report, said that vaccinations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory started this month. Last week, the global equity initiative COVAX delivered 60,000 doses, with another 70,000 doses officially donated by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Independent UN experts asked Israel to make COVID-19 vaccines available in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Members of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices remain concerned that Israel was donating vaccines to other countries while failing to protect Palestinians.
“The number of vaccinations obtained by Palestinians so far reflects just a ‘drop in the sea’ in terms of meeting total vaccination requirements and containing the COVID-19 pandemic,” they said in a statement released after consultations with the UN Member States in Geneva last week.
Report by:
Journalist/Photographer _ Florence Akano
Journalist/Photographer _ Olivier Noudjalbaye Dedingar
Posted: July 6, 2021 by CornerstoneCMG
Why Palestine Need More Aid To Fight Covid-19? UN Envoy Explains.
The Secretary-General’s envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council on Thursday that COVID-19 continues to have a severe effect on Palestinians, urging increased support for vaccination efforts.
The disease is a highly “persistent health threat” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), according to UN Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland, with new cases growing dramatically in the West Bank in recent weeks. Although the number of cases in Gaza remains low, it has increased recently.
Mr. Wennesland, who presented his latest report, said that vaccinations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory started this month. Last week, the global equity initiative COVAX delivered 60,000 doses, with another 70,000 doses officially donated by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Independent UN experts asked Israel to make COVID-19 vaccines available in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Members of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices remain concerned that Israel was donating vaccines to other countries while failing to protect Palestinians.
“The number of vaccinations obtained by Palestinians so far reflects just a ‘drop in the sea’ in terms of meeting total vaccination requirements and containing the COVID-19 pandemic,” they said in a statement released after consultations with the UN Member States in Geneva last week.
Report by:
Journalist/Photographer _ Florence Akano
Journalist/Photographer _ Olivier Noudjalbaye Dedingar
Category: Covid-19, United Nation Tags: Covid-19, UN