Category: Pandemic

MIL-OSI United Nations: Pandemic heroes stepped up in 2020 – now they’re asking world leaders to do the same

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

A defining moment for global health is about to unfold in Geneva.

The United Nations is playing a central role in efforts to prevent future pandemics, as the World Health Assembly works to finalise the text of the Pandemic Preparedness Treaty — a document born from the catastrophic failures and fragile victories of coronavirus“>COVID-19.

The text of the treaty promises shared information, equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics, and stronger healthcare systems – all of which resonates deeply with the people who lived through the worst.

In 2020, at the height of the global pandemic, UN News spoke with many of the unsung heroes who faced impossible challenges with courage and resolve, including doctors, community workers, a journalist, a youth volunteer and an Indigenous leader.

They were exhausted, scared, hopeful and determined. Today, five years later, they carry scars and wisdom from that fight.

We went back to them – and their reflections remind us of what is at stake.

Margarita Castrillón, Paediatrician, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Personal archive

As a paediatrician on the frontlines, Dr Castrillon says future pandemic plans must start with empathy, solidarity, and real support for health workers.

“We were heroes without capes and without fair pay.”

In 2020, Dr Margarita Castrillón, a Colombian paediatrician living in Buenos Aires, found herself taking on far more than her usual clinic work.

As COVID-19 swept Argentina, she volunteered to also serve in emergency medical transport, riding in ambulances to transfer patients, many suspected of having the virus, to hospitals across the city.

After one of those long, exhausting shifts, she noticed a handwritten sign taped to the elevator in her apartment building.

It said “I’m Victoria from the 7th floor. If you need any groceries or help, ring my doorbell,” she recalls. “That gesture filled my soul after such a hard day at work. It marked me. I thought: ‘the good people outnumber the bad’. Empathy was winning.”

Dr Castrillón was working across multiple roles – clinic, ambulance, teaching at the university – all while raising her young daughter. “It was brutal. I look back and I want to cry. I’m not sure I’d be as brave if it happened again. Every day I left home terrified.”

The memory of Buenos Aires’ summer heat under full protective suits stays with her. “We were heroes without capes and without fair pay. We worked 24 hours, covering for sick colleagues, unable to eat or speak together.”

But the experience gave her one unexpected gift. “I taught my daughter to read, write and do maths at home. It made me a better mum. I valued family and true friendship more than ever.”

Her medical routine also changed permanently. “I now wear a mask with every patient. It protects both of us. And hand sanitiser stations in hospitals are permanent now.”

On the upcoming global pact, she is firm: “We need collaboration and love for people at the government level. We lived through hell. Some colleagues still suffer panic attacks. Recognition and fair pay are essential to keep health systems strong.”

Evgeny Pinelis, Intensive Care doctor, Brooklyn, New York

Leila Erdman

In an overwhelmed New York ICU, Dr Pinelis worked beyond limits and now warns the world may still be unprepared for what comes next.

When we first spoke to Dr Evgeny Pinelis in the spring of 2020, he was deep in New York City’s overwhelming first COVID wave.

“Our first severe patient came on 7 March. By the end of the month, we had over forty ICU beds full,” he recalled. ICU nurses were pushed beyond safe limits, caring for up to five critical patients at a time.

“I do hope there won’t be a next time, because I’m not confident we’re truly ready.”

Protective equipment ran so scarce that he bought supplies with his own money, while volunteers scrambled to donate gear, some uncertified, but “better than nothing.”

Throughout the crisis, Dr Pinelis shared dispatches on social media, chronicling the chaos with honesty and caution. “I woke up one morning to thousands of new followers,” he said.

Five years later, his reflection is sobering. “I can only speak about this from the perspective of a regular intensive care doctor. And if I had to sum it up, I’d say I realised I’m ready, if necessary, to work far beyond the norm and do everything possible when faced with a poorly understood disease that we didn’t quite know how to treat.”

The public’s reaction, he says, was a mixed bag. “On the one hand, there were volunteers, support, and solidarity. But on the other, there were conspiracy theories, complaints about things as trivial as closed theatres, and at times even hostility toward medical professionals and scientists.”

In the earliest days of the pandemic, positivity seemed to win out. “But within a month or so, the negativity began to dominate,” he says. “We were lucky that the disease turned out not to be highly lethal.”

As for preparedness today, Dr Pinelis remains cautious: “Being less prepared than we were in New York is hard to imagine – so yes, we can and should be better prepared. But it seems the lessons learned weren’t quite the ones we hoped for. And I do hope there won’t be a next time, because I’m not confident we’re truly ready.”

Chen Jingyu, lung transplant surgeon, Wuxi, China

© Wuxi People’s Hospital

Dr Chen performed emergency lung transplants on critically ill COVID patients and now advocates for global cooperation and fair access to care.

In 2020, Dr Chen Jingyu, vice president of Wuxi People’s Hospital and one of China’s leading lung transplant surgeons, performed the world’s first lung transplants on critically ill COVID-19 patients.

His team worked under extraordinary conditions, moving their operating theatre into an infectious disease hospital and taking extreme precautions to avoid infection.

“We didn’t know if there was any virus in their airways during the process of cutting off the diseased lung. So, we did the surgery with very strict precautions,” Dr Chen said at the time. “We had a very scientific discussion about how we could save lives, protect our healthcare workers, and achieve zero infection.”

“The Pandemic Treaty is a turning point in global health.”

Today, Dr Chen says the Pandemic Treaty represents a critical milestone. “The Pandemic Treaty is a turning point in global health governance. First, in terms of prevention and early response, the treaty will help build a global coordinated prevention system, strengthen pathogen monitoring and information sharing, and implement the One Global Village, One Health approach.”

“Second, the treaty provides legal guarantees for equitable access to medical resources, avoids national monopolies, and improves global standardisation of care capabilities to patients in severe conditions.”

Dr Chen believes the lessons of the pandemic must be used to build a fairer system. “Access to and training of high-end medical technologies will enhance the ability of developing countries to respond to severe diseases such as respiratory failure and reduce mortality,” he says.

“Only through international cooperation and scientific consensus can we truly have the courage and confidence to fight against pandemics.”

Marcos Terena, Indigenous leader, Brazil

© Taily Terena

Marcos Terena lost family to COVID and calls for a global pact rooted in dignity, life, and respect for the Earth.

The pandemic devastated Brazil’s Indigenous communities, including Terena’s own Xané people. “I still can remember that morning, in our Indigenous community, when we heard that a cousin of ours had passed away suddenly.”

“He started coughing and ended up dying. That scared all of us in our community”.

“About two hours after his death, we learned that his wife, who had gone to the hospital to retrieve his body, had also died, from the same symptoms. We started panicking and looking for help, as this was a disease that even our leaders did not know how to handle, how to cure. They did not know much about this disease which was brought to us by the wind.”

The loss became personal when his brother, the creator of the Indigenous Olympic Games, also died of COVID-19. “It brought us emotion, tears. He went to the hospital and never came back.”

“The UN must make a pact for life”

Looking back, Mr Terena believes the World Health Organization played a crucial role. “When the WHO became the focal point and the mediator for the pandemic response, this gave the United Nations a very responsible role to play among governments across the globe,” he says.

Today, his message remains urgent and clear. “We are not talking about money or currencies. We are talking about well-being. We the Indigenous people fight for the Earth. The Earth is our Mother, and our source of life; it gives us our cosmovision, our food security and our dignity as peoples.”

As world leaders meet again, he leaves them with a final plea: “The UN should make a pact for life, a pact for dignity and a pact where life is crucial to all.”

Nikhil Gupta, United Nations youth volunteer, Varanasi, India

© UNDPIndia/Srishti Bhardwaj

UNV’s Nikhil Gupta created grassroots health and education tools during lockdowns, turning remote villages into hubs of volunteer-powered resilience.

As COVID-19 overwhelmed Varanasi, India’s spiritual heart, Nikhil Gupta – a United Nations Volunteer from Uttar Pradesh – stepped in to serve the most isolated communities.

“The pandemic changed everything,” he says. “In Varanasi, COVID-19 infected over 80,000 people, and thousands of families in remote villages were left without access to healthcare, education, or even accurate information. But the crisis revealed not just gaps but grit.”

Mr Gupta and his team launched creative grassroots solutions. “Guided by the UN principle of ‘Leave no one behind,’ we created an animated volunteer guide named Ganga – a friendly character with a warm voice and simple wisdom. Ganga became a beacon of hope, educating villagers about hygiene, safety, and vaccination through videos watched on shared mobile screens under neem trees.”

“When the world paused, we stepped forward. When fear spread, we spread hope.”

They also opened Vidya ki Jhopdi – The Hut of Education. “It was a community classroom built from scrap but powered by purpose. There I met Raju, an 11-year-old from a nearby slum who had lost access to school. He would sit on a worn-out mat every afternoon, eyes wide with wonder, scribbling letters in chalk. Today, he reads and writes fluently, and dreams of becoming a teacher.”

The human moments left the deepest impression. “There was Amma Shanti Devi, a 90-year-old widow in a remote village. Left alone after the lockdown, she hadn’t stepped out in months. Through our volunteers, she received regular wellness check-ins, medicine deliveries, and simply someone to talk to.”

Looking ahead to the Pandemic Treaty, Mr Gupta says that it shouldn’t be only technical or top-down. “It should echo the voices of people like Amma and Raju. It must include local wisdom, volunteer networks, and ensure grassroots equity. My message to world leaders? ‘Laws can guide, but love must lead. Invest in hearts that serve, not just in speed.’”

He adds: “Support young changemakers. Recognise the power of community-driven action. Make health systems inclusive. And build a world where, when the next storm hits, the light doesn’t dim. Because in every village, there’s a Nikhil. And in every Nikhil, a youth waiting to be led.”

Alejandra Crail, Journalist, Mexico City

Personal archive

Alejandra Crail exposed rising child abuse during lockdown and says future pandemic plans must protect mental and emotional health, too.

“Health is more than vaccines. It’s also mental health, emotional health.”

When the pandemic hit Mexico, Alejandra Crail was not just reporting the crisis, she was sounding an alarm. Her investigation, To Kill a Son, revealed that every two days in Mexico, a child under 15 is killed – often at home, and often by someone in their own family.

“Let me remember something,” she says. “At the beginning of the Coronavirus, I started to talk to different experts on childhood rights and domestic violence…We were worried because we were about to lose our eyes in schools, sports, and community centres. Children were more vulnerable than ever during the COVID era.”

For many, home wasn’t a safe haven. “Their houses were the most dangerous places for them, and their nearest family members are usually their attackers.”

Now, five years later, the violence hasn’t eased. “The number of domestic violence cases has increased after the pandemic,” Ms Crail says.

She shares one case she can’t forget. Joselina Zavala, a grandmother who reported the sexual abuse of her disabled grandson. “She went to the police…despite the testimony of the child and the proof, his father was absolved.

“When people go to the authorities to achieve some kind of justice… the authorities usually don’t investigate enough, and the crimes are unsolved.”

The pandemic also reshaped her personal convictions. “Health is the most important thing to make sure that we have,” she says. “When we live in a country like Mexico, where we don’t have a good public health system, a pandemic or any other illness can be very, very hard to survive.”

She adds, “Work isn’t the most important thing in the world. Family – your loved ones – are the real treasure. We need to spend more time with them, because we don’t know how much time we can share.”

Looking ahead to the World Health Assembly and the Pandemic Treaty, she warns that global responses must go beyond access to vaccines and medicine. “Health is more than vaccines. It’s also mental health, emotional health,” she says.

Her final message to world leaders is as personal as it is political: “We need to open paths that benefit all countries that make up the world. These issues must be on the table because in a pandemic, they can be the difference between a family surviving adversity, or not.”

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Pandemic accord can be a ‘gamechanger’ for marginalised communities, says youth advocate

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

Mr. Hassan and his fellow Youth Councillors advise and actively engage with the WHO Director-General and the agency’s senior leadership, designing and expanding the agency’s programmes and strategies.

In an interview with UN News ahead of the 2025 World Health Assembly – the UN’s highest forum for global health – Mr. Hassan, who was born and raised in Texas, USA, explains why he started iCure, a global non-profit organisation designed to ensure that all people receive access to preventative medical screening, and how the pandemic treaty could radically improve care for vulnerable communities.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Courtesy of Rehman Hassan

Rehman Hassan: 10 years ago, my grandfather passed away from heart disease. I saw how he was treated differently because of the way that he presented himself, as an immigrant and a person of colour. He was very knowledgeable, but he had limited literacy, and he wasn’t necessarily told what all his options were. I felt that the doctors tried to rush him into surgery and that they forced him to be anaesthetized because they believed he was moving around too much, when in fact he was just in pain and uncomfortable.

I’m convinced that he didn’t get the care that he deserved and that really resonated with me, because I wanted to make sure that no one else felt that way. I saw that, as a young person, my role could involve working at a community level, mobilising other young people to promote things like good diet or exercise, and advocate for those who need help.

That’s how iCure started, and it has blossomed into an international movement. We have hosted a youth fellowship programme with around 65 young people from all over the world, from Vietnam to Qatar to Puerto Rico, discussing the health issues they’re seeing and how to address them, as trusted members of their communities, to bridge the kinds of information gaps that are very common in many marginalized communities, especially amongst low income people and immigrants.

UN News: Tell me about your personal experience during the coronavirus“>COVID-19 pandemic?

Rehman Hassan: The pandemic was, for many people across the world, a deeply difficult, scary, intense process. I was living with my grandparents who were immunocompromised, and I knew that they were at significant risk. Whilst we had a lot of vaccines in the US, there was a lot of pandemic disinformation and misinformation; presenting it as something that had a low mortality rate and that we could ignore.

In addition, we had a major winter storm in Texas that froze the state for almost two weeks. We didn’t have access to electricity, gas or water. Our house was flooded and ultimately was destroyed. This combination of the climate crisis and the pandemic meant that many people, especially in my community, were left behind and did not receive the resources that they needed.

Children in Mexico received food baskets during the COVID-19 pandemic (file, 2022)

UN News: The WHO says that the pandemic preparedness treaty, if and when it is adopted, will be a breakthrough for health equity and make a real difference on the ground. Do you agree?

Rehman Hassan: I definitely think it’s a game changer. I got involved with the treaty process through the WHO Youth Council, where I represent an organisation [ACT4FOOD, a global youth-led movement to transform food systems] that primarily focuses on access to food, the social determinants of health and how we can promote change at the community level.

The text of the treaty spells out the efforts that need to be taken at a community level, and each member state has an obligation to make sure that the most vulnerable get access to support or care, as part of their pandemic response plans.

There is a commitment to early detection: if we can detect pandemics early, then we can ensure that everyone has access to the care and resources they need.

UN News: It’s likely that there will be another pandemic in our lifetimes. Will we manage it better than the last one?

Rehman Hassan: We’re definitely seeing an acceleration of pandemics and extreme events that ultimately undermine equity.

I think that the World Health Assembly and the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for the pandemic treaty have done an incredible job of understanding what went wrong during the COVID-19 pandemic, and previous pandemics, and then looking at how we can craft an instrument that will address those inequities or prevent them from happening in the first place.

If member states deliver a meaningful treaty, I think it would significantly improve and facilitate a much better pandemic response than what we saw during last time.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Countries set to adopt ‘vital’ pandemic preparedness accord

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

The stakes are high for this year’s World Health Assembly, the UN’s premier health forum, where officials will tackle a sweeping agenda – from pandemic readiness and climate-related health risks to mental health, maternal care, and environmental justice. But with geopolitical tensions running high, international collaboration on these and other vital issues will be tested.

Here are some of the key areas set to dominate discussion:

1. ‘Cautious optimism’: Signing off on a pandemic accord

The coronavirus“>COVID-19 pandemic showed that there are stark inequities in access to diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines, both within and between countries. Healthcare services were overwhelmed, economies were severely disrupted and nearly seven million lives were lost.

This was the motivation for countries to come together to work on an accord to ensure that the world handles the next pandemic in a fairer and more efficient way. When the delegates arrive in Geneva on Monday 19 May, they will thrash out the text of the agreement, which Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), described as “vital for future generations.”

If the agreement is adopted, it will be a major breakthrough in the way the world handles pandemics and health crises. Negotiations, though, remain politically delicate: several nations, including the United States, have raised concerns about national sovereignty and intellectual property rights. Still, in recent weeks, Dr. Tedros has expressed “cautious optimism” that consensus can be reached.

© UNDP Malawi

A woman wearing a mask, Malawi.

2. Climate Change: An existential threat

The climate crisis isn’t just about rising temperatures – it’s putting lives at risk. Extreme weather and disease outbreaks are on the rise, threatening the health of millions. An action plan created by WHO calls for climate and health policies to work together, strengthens resilience, and ensures funding to safeguard vulnerable communities.

A draft version of the plan was released following a resolution adopted at the 2024 conference and, this year, delegates are expected to finalise the draft, which includes strategies to adapt to and mitigate climate-related health risks.

3. Health for all: Getting universal health care back on track

Ensuring that all people have affordable access to the full range of quality health services they need is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which all UN Member States signed up to in 2015. However, the health target is way off track: in fact, improvements to health services have stagnated over the last ten years.

Nevertheless, universal health care (UHC) will be a top priority at the Assembly, where delegates will discuss strategies to strengthen primary healthcare systems, secure sustainable financing and provide care for vulnerable populations.

© WHO/Panos/Eduardo Martino

4. Healthy Beginnings: Maternal and newborn health

Close to 300,000 women lose their life during pregnancy or childbirth each year, while over two million babies die in their first month of life. In April, WHO launched a year-long campaign to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

Titled “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”, it will urge governments and the health community to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.

Expect new targets and renewed commitments to end preventable deaths to be announced at the Assembly.

5. Closing the gaps: Noncommunicable diseases

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, kill tens of millions of people each year. Around three-quarters of those deaths are in low and middle-income countries.

Many lives could be saved if more countries had strong national responses, providing detection, screening and treatment, as well as palliative care.

In preparation for a WHO meeting on NCDs and mental health in September, delegates will review the way the UN health agency collaborates with governments, civil society, and the private sector to prevent and control these diseases, and address ways to improve access to essential medicines and health technologies.

WHO/Eduardo Martino

6. Getting the finances in order

This year has been described as one of the most challenging ever at the UN, which is being buffeted by extreme pressures on its finances. The US, a major donor announced that it would be leaving WHO in January, and other countries have also cut development and aid funding.

This year’s Assembly will see Member States negotiating a 50 per cent increase in the base budget, something that has been in the works since the 2022 meeting. If a funding boost is approved, it will provide a vital boost at a challenging time. WHO is also seeking additional voluntary contributions, and additional pledges are anticipated from member states and philanthropic organisations.

Follow the sessions at the World Health Assembly here.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: World Health Assembly opens amid high-stakes pandemic treaty vote, global funding crisis

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, urged Member States to remain focused on shared goals even amid global instability.

“We are here to serve not our own interests, but the eight billion people of our world,” he said in his keynote address at the Palais des Nations. “To leave a heritage for those who come after us; for our children and our grandchildren; and to work together for a healthier, more peaceful and more equitable world. It’s possible.”

The Assembly, WHO’s highest decision-making body, runs through 27 May and brings together delegations from 194 Member States under the theme One World for Health.

This year’s agenda includes a vote on the intensely negotiated Pandemic Agreement, a reduced budget proposal, and discussions on climate, conflict, antimicrobial resistance, and digital health.

Pandemic prevention focus

A central item on the Assembly’s agenda is the proposed WHO pandemic accord, a global compact aimed at preventing the kind of fragmented response that marked the early stages of coronavirus“>COVID-19.

The treaty is the result of three years of negotiations between all WHO Member States.

“This is truly a historic moment,” Dr Tedros said. “Even in the middle of crisis, and in the face of significant opposition, you worked tirelessly, you never gave up, and you reached your goal.”

A final vote on the agreement is expected on Tuesday.

If adopted, it would mark only the second time countries have come together to approve a legally binding global health treaty under WHO’s founding rules. The first was the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2003 to curb the global tobacco epidemic.

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2024 health check

In his address, Tedros presented highlights from WHO’s 2024 Results Report, noting both progress and persistent global health gaps.

On tobacco control, he cited a global one-third reduction in smoking prevalence since the WHO Framework Convention entered into force two decades ago.

He praised countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Oman, and Viet Nam for introducing stronger regulations last year, including plain packaging and restrictions on e-cigarettes.

On nutrition, he pointed to new WHO guidelines on wasting and the expansion of the Tobacco-Free Farms Initiative in Africa, which has supported thousands of farmers in transitioning to food crops.

He also emphasised WHO’s growing work on air pollution and climate-resilient health systems, including partnerships with Gavi and UNICEF to install solar energy in health facilities across multiple countries.

On maternal and child health, Tedros noted stalled progress and outlined new national acceleration plans to reduce newborn mortality. Immunisation coverage now reaches 83 per cent of children globally, compared to less than 5 per cent when the Expanded Programme on Immunisation was launched in 1974.

“We are living in a golden age of disease elimination,” he said, citing the certification of Cabo Verde, Egypt, and Georgia as malaria-free; progress in neglected tropical diseases; and Botswana’s recognition as the first country to reach gold-tier status in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

© WHO/Isaac Rudakubana

WHO has been supporting Universal Health Coverage in Rwanda.

WHO budget strain

Turning to WHO’s internal operations, Tedros offered a stark assessment of the organisation’s finances.

“We are facing a salary gap for the next biennium of more than US$ 500 million,” he said. “A reduced workforce means a reduced scope of work.”

This week, Member States will vote on a proposed 20 per cent increase in assessed contributions, as well as a reduced Programme Budget of $ 4.2 billion for 2026–2027, down from an earlier proposal of $ 5.3 billion. The cuts reflect an effort to align WHO’s work with current funding levels while preserving core functions.

Tedros acknowledged that WHO’s long-standing reliance on voluntary earmarked funding from a small group of donors had left it vulnerable. He urged Member States to see the budget shortfall not only as a crisis but also as a potential turning point.

“Either we must lower our ambitions for what WHO is and does, or we must raise the money,” he said. “I know which I will choose.”

He drew a sharp contrast between WHO’s budget and global spending priorities: “US$ 2.1 billion is the equivalent of global military expenditure every eight hours; US$ 2.1 billion is the price of one stealth bomber – to kill people; US$ 2.1 billion is one-quarter of what the tobacco industry spends on advertising and promotion every single year. And again, a product that kills people.”

“It seems somebody switched the price tags on what is truly valuable in our world,” he said.

Emergencies and appeals

The Director-General also detailed WHO’s emergency operations in 2024, which spanned 89 countries. These included responses to outbreaks of cholera, Ebola, mpox, and polio, as well as humanitarian interventions in conflict zones such as Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza.

In Gaza, he said, WHO had supported more than 7,300 medical evacuations since late 2023, but over 10,000 patients remained in urgent need of care.

Looking ahead: a transformed WHO?

The WHO chief closed with a look at the agency’s future direction, shaped by lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted new initiatives in pandemic intelligence, vaccine development, and digital health, including expanded work on artificial intelligence and support for mRNA technology transfer to 15 countries.

WHO has also restructured its headquarters, reducing management layers and streamlining departments.

“Our current crisis is an opportunity,” Dr Tedros concluded. “Together, we will do it.”

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: UN chief hails Pope Francis as ‘a transcendent voice for peace’

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

The pontiff – born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina – was elected in March 2013. He was the first priest from the Americas region to lead the Catholic Church worldwide and a strong voice for social justice globally.

Mr. Guterres described him as a messenger of hope, humility and humanity.

Legacy and inspiration

“Pope Francis was a transcendent voice for peace, human dignity and social justice. He leaves behind a legacy of faith, service and compassion for all — especially those left on the margins of life or trapped by the horrors of conflict,” he said.

Furthermore, he “was a man of faith for all faiths — working with people of all beliefs and backgrounds to light a path forward.”

The Secretary-General said the UN was greatly inspired by the Pope’s commitment to the goals and ideals of the global organization, a message that he conveyed in their various meetings.

Strong environmental message

The Secretary-General recalled that the Pope spoke of the organization’s ideal of a “united human family” during his historic visit to UN Headquarters in New York in 2015.

“Pope Francis also understood that protecting our common home is, at heart, a deeply moral mission and responsibility that belongs to every person,” said Mr. Guterres, noting that his second Encyclical – Laudato Si – was a major contribution to the global mobilisation that resulted in the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.

“Pope Francis once said: “The future of humankind isn’t exclusively in the hands of politicians, of great leaders, of big companies…[it] is, most of all, in the hands of those people who recognize the other as a ‘you’ and themselves as part of an ‘us,’” he added.

The Secretary-General concluded by saying that “our divided and discordant world will be a much better place if we follow his example of unity and mutual understanding in our own actions.”

UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Pope Francis addresses the General Assembly during his visit to United Nations Headquarters in 2015.

Voice for change

During his September 2015 visit to the UN, Pope Francis delivered a wide-ranging address to leaders gathered in the General Assembly Hall to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He urged global action to protect the environment and end the suffering of “vast ranks of the excluded.” He also suggested that the UN could be improved and can “be the pledge of a secure and happy future for future generations”.

“The international juridical framework of the United Nations and of all its activities, like any other human endeavour, can be improved, yet it remains necessary,” he said.

Five years later, during the virtual meeting of the UN General Assembly due to the coronavirus“>COVID-19 pandemic, the Pope said the crisis was also an opportunity to rethink our way of life – and systems that are widening global inequality.

People over profit

Pope Francis was a strong supporter of the UN, including its humanitarian work.

He engaged with the three UN agencies based in Rome, namely the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

In a message to the FAO Conference in June 2021, he expressed concern over rising food insecurity amid the pandemic and called for developing a “circular economy” that both guarantees resources for all people and promotes the use of renewable energy sources.

“If we are to recover from the crisis that is ravaging us, we must develop an economy tailored to fit mankind, not motivated mainly by profit but anchored in the common good, ethically friendly and kind to the environment,” he said.

Ending conflict

Most recently, the Pope backed UN efforts towards ending the current unrest in South Sudan, where rising political tensions and fresh mobilization of the army and opposing armed groups in some regions have raised fears of a return to civil war.

The UN Special Representative for South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, told the Security Council just last week that the UN Mission in the country, UNMISS, was engaged in intensive diplomatic efforts to broker a peaceful solution alongside many stakeholders, including the African Union, regional bloc IGAD, Pope Francis and others.

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MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Nations adopt historic pledge to guard against future pandemics

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

The effects of the devastating coronavirus“>COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt. Around seven million people died, health systems were overwhelmed, and the global economy was practically driven to a standstill.

The global turmoil prompted a stunned international community to pursue an agreement aimed at preventing such a catastrophic event from happening again – and ensuring the world is far better prepared in the future.

The landmark decision was made at the World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Although the formal adoption was on Tuesday, the WHO’s Member States overwhelmingly approved the agreement on Monday (124 votes in favour, zero objections, 11 abstentions).

This meant that, rather than a nail-biting vote with last-minute surprises (ahead of the conference, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, only felt able to express “cautious optimism”), the adoption by consensus had a celebratory feel.

“The agreement is a victory for public health, science and multilateral action,” declared Tedros. “It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats.

“It is also a recognition by the international community that our citizens, societies and economies must not be left vulnerable to again suffer losses like those endured during COVID-19.”

WHO/Christopher Black

WHO Member States approved the first-ever Pandemic Agreement on 19 May 2025

‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

The pandemic laid bare gross inequities between and within countries, when it came to diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines, and a core aim of the agreement is to plug gaps and treat any future pandemics in a fairer and more efficient way.

“Now that the Agreement has been brought to life, we must all act with the same urgency to implement its critical elements, including systems to ensure equitable access to life-saving pandemic-related health products,” announced Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, Secretary of the Philippines Department of Health, and President of this year’s World Health Assembly, who presided over the Agreement’s adoption.

“As COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime emergency, the WHO Pandemic Agreement offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build on lessons learned from that crisis and ensure people worldwide are better protected if a future pandemic emerges.”

The issue of national sovereignty has been raised several times during the process of negotiating the accord, a reflection of false online claims that WHO is somehow attempting to wrest control away from individual countries.

The accord is at pains to point out that this is not the case, stating that nothing contained within it gives WHO any authority to change or interfere with national laws, or force nations to take measures such as banning travellers, impose vaccinations or implement lockdowns.

WHO/ Christopher Black

WHO Member States approved the first-ever Pandemic Agreement on 19 May 2025

11 abstentions and a US no-show

11 countries abstained, including Poland, Israel, Italy, Russia, Slovakia and Iran. Following the vote, the abstaining countries were given the opportunity to explain why they took this decision.

The Polish delegate explained that they could not support the treaty ahead of a domestic review, whilst Russia raised the issue of sovereignty as a concern. Iran’s representative said that “key concerns of developing countries were not addressed,” and that they regretted the “lack of binding commitments on unhindered access and equitable access to medical countermeasures, technology transfer and knowhow, and continued silence on negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on health systems.”

During the high-level segment which preceded the vote, a notable intervention came from the United States which has begun the year-long process of withdrawing from the WHO, and did not take part in the vote.

In a video addressed to the Assembly, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy excoriated the WHO, accusing the UN agency of having “doubled down with the Pandemic Agreement which will lock in all of the dysfunction of the WHO pandemic response…we’re not going to participate in that.”

Next steps

The adoption has been hailed as a groundbreaking step, but this is just the beginning of the process.

The next step is putting the agreement into practice, by launching a process to draft and negotiate a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) through an Intergovernmental Working Group.

The result of this process will be considered at next year’s World Health Assembly.

Once the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, the agreement will then be open for signature and consideration of ratification, including by national legislative bodies. After 60 ratifications, it will enter into force.

Other provisions include a new financial mechanism for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and the creation of a Global Supply Chain and Logistics Network to “enhance, facilitate, and work to remove barriers and ensure equitable, timely, rapid, safe, and affordable access to pandemic-related health products for countries in need during public health emergencies of international concern, including pandemic emergencies, and for prevention of such emergencies.”

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Climate crisis driving surge in gender-based violence, UN study finds

Source: United Nations 4

That is the warning from a new issue brief by the UN Spotlight Initiative, which finds that climate change is intensifying the social and economic stresses that are fuelling increased levels of violence against women and girls.

The brief explains that extreme weather, displacement, food insecurity, and economic instability are key factors increasing the prevalence and severity of gender-based violence.

These impacts hit hardest in fragile communities, where women already face entrenched inequalities and are more vulnerable to assault.

Every 1°C rise in global temperature is associated with a 4.7 per cent increase in intimate partner violence (IPV), the study cites. In a 2°C warming scenario, 40 million more women and girls are likely to experience IPV each year by 2090. In a 3.5°C scenario, that number more than doubles.

The Spotlight Initiative is the United Nations high-impact initiative to end violence against women and girls. Its latest findings emphasise that climate solutions must address rights, safety, and justice if they are to be effective or sustainable.

UNIC Mexico/Eloísa Farrera

A ‘shadow pandemic’

Gender-based violence is already a global epidemic, the report outlines. Over one billion women — at least one in three — have experienced physical, sexual, or psychological abuse in their lifetime. These figures are likely underestimated, as only around seven per cent of survivors file a formal report to police or medical services.

The Spotlight Initiative identifies a pattern of increased violence in the aftermath of climate disasters.

In 2023 alone, 93.1 million people were affected by weather-related disasters and earthquakes, while an estimated 423 million women experienced intimate partner violence. As climate shocks become more frequent and severe, the risk of violence is projected to rise dramatically.

For example, one study highlighted in the report found a 28 per cent increase in femicide during heatwaves.

Other consequences include higher rates of child marriage, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation, especially in the wake of displacement caused by floods, droughts, or desertification.

© WFP/Mehedi Rahman

Marginalized communities

The burden of this crisis is not evenly distributed. Women and girls living in poverty — including smallholder farmers and those in informal urban settlements — face heightened vulnerability.

Women who are Indigenous, disabled, elderly, or part of the LGBTQ+ community also experience overlapping risks, with limited access to services, shelters, or protections.

In sub-Saharan Africa, projections show that intimate partner violence could nearly triple from 48 million women in 2015 to 140 million by 2060 if temperatures rise by 4°C. However, under a scenario that limits warming to 1.5°C, the share of women affected could decrease from 24 percent in 2015 to 14 percent in 2060.

The report also draws attention to the growing threats against women environmental human rights defenders. Many face harassment, defamation, physical assault, or worse for speaking out against destructive land use or extractive industries.

In Guatemala, women who reported illegal logging were forcibly evicted and had their homes burned. In the Philippines, those opposing mining operations have faced abduction and deadly violence.

© UNICEF/Anderson Flores

An urgent call for gender-inclusive climate policy

Despite the urgency of this issue, only 0.04 per cent of climate-related development assistance focuses primarily on gender equality. The report argues that this gap represents a critical failure to recognize how gender-based violence – or GBV – determines climate resilience and justice.

The Spotlight Initiative calls for GBV prevention to be integrated into all levels of climate policy, from local strategies to international funding mechanisms.

Examples from countries like Haiti, Vanuatu, Liberia, and Mozambique have shown how programmes can be designed to simultaneously address violence and build climate resilience.

These include re-training midwives who had previously performed female genital mutilation to access alternative livelihoods through climate-smart agriculture, ensuring that disaster response includes GBV services, and supporting mobile health clinics in disaster zones.

The report stresses that effective climate action must prioritize safety, equity, and the leadership of women and girls.

Ending violence against women and girls, the report concludes, is not only a human rights imperative — it is essential to achieving a just, sustainable, and climate-resilient future.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: World News in Brief: Rights abuses in Haiti, Sudan war sees exodus to Chad, food trade optimism

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

Between 1 January and 30 May, at least 2,680 people – including 54 children – were killed, 957 injured, 316 kidnapped for ransom, and many more subjected to sexual violence and child gang recruitment.

“Alarming as they are, numbers cannot express the horrors Haitians are being forced to endure daily,” said Mr. Türk.

Conflicts on all sides

In recent months, gangs have attacked Mirebalais in the centre of the country, looting police stations, destroying property and freeing over 500 inmates from the local prison.

UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Meanwhile, so-called self-defence groups have targeted individuals they suspect of gang affiliation. On 20 May, at least 25 people were killed and 10 injured by a group accusing them of supporting gangs.

Law enforcement has ramped up operations against them. Since January, police have killed at least 1,448 people, including 65 during extrajudicial executions.

Mr. Türk called on the international community to take decisive action to end the violence, including renewed support for the Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and full enforcement of the council’s arms embargo.

He also reiterated his call for States to not forcibly return anyone to Haiti.

“The coming months will be crucial and will test the international community’s ability to take stronger, more coordinated action – action that will help determine the future stability of Haiti and the wider region,” Mr. Türk added.

Outlook for food trade ‘relatively optimistic’, FAO says

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released their annual Food Outlook report Thursday which provides a “relatively optimistic” look at international food markets.

According to the report, production is expected to increase across almost all categories, with grain production expected to reach record levels. And while prices do remain higher this year than last, between April and May there was an overall decrease of almost one per cent.

The report noted, however, that global trends — including rising geopolitical tensions, climate shocks and trade uncertainties — may still negatively impact production.

“While agricultural production trends appear solid, drivers that could negatively impact global food security are increasing,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero.

Fowl, fish fraud and fertilizer flows

The report noted that outbreaks of avian influenza have become more persistent and constitute “one of the most significant biological threats to the global poultry sector.” Nevertheless, poultry exports have remained largely resilient so far.

The issue of fish fraud – the misrepresentation of the location or manner of the catch – was also discussed, with FAO warning that risks are growing.

Additionally, the report examined fertilizer flows, noting Russia’s growing exports and the decrease in fertilizer prices since the COVID pandemic.

Overall, the report noted, the cost of imports worldwide has increased by 3.6 percent or nearly $2.1 trillion.

Eastern Chad ‘reaching a breaking point’ as Sudan war refugees continue to arrive

Aid teams in eastern Chad warn on Friday that host communities are reaching breaking point because of climate shocks and the pressure of hosting war refugees from neighbouring Sudan.

In an alert, the UN’s top aid official in Chad, François Batalingaya, warned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding almost unnoticed by the world’s media.

“Right now, nearly 300,000 people are stranded at the border, waiting to be relocated inland,” he noted.

“Tens of thousands, mostly women and children, are sleeping in the open without shelter, clean water and health care. These are survivors of war. They arrive traumatized, hungry, and with nothing. They recount stories of mass killings, sexual violence and entire communities destroyed.”

Major exodus

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, more than 850,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad. They’ve joined the 400,000 existing Sudanese refugees who have arrived over the last 15 years.

The UN aid official explained that even before the latest Sudanese arrivals, nearly one million people in eastern Chad were in urgent need of help.

Today, “they are sharing what little they have – food, water, and space – with those fleeing the war,” Mr. Batalingaya said.

In an appeal for international assistance, he warned that clinics are overwhelmed, malnutrition is rising and basic services are buckling.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Scam centres are a ‘human rights crisis’, independent experts warn

Source: United Nations MIL OSI

It’s believed that hundreds of thousands of trafficked individuals of various nationalities are forced to carry out fraud in the centres located across Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia.

“The situation has reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis,” said right experts Tomoya Obokata, Siobhán Mullally and Vitit Muntarbhorn. They stressed that thousands of released victims remain stranded in inhumane conditions at the Myanmar-Thailand border.

The underground operations are often linked to criminal networks that recruit victims globally, putting them to work in facilities principally in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia.  

Many victims are kidnapped and sold to other fraudulent operations, said the rights experts who are known as Special Rapporteurs, reporting to the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff and work in an independent capacity.

They noted that workers are not freed unless a ransom is paid by their families and that if they try to escape, they are often tortured or killed with total impunity and with corrupt government officials complicit.  

“Once trafficked, victims are deprived of their liberty and subjected to torture, ill treatment, severe violence and abuse including beatings, electrocution, solitary confinement and sexual violence,” the Special Rapporteurs said.

‘Address the drivers of cyber-criminality’

The rights experts added that access to food and clean water is limited and that living conditions are often cramped and unsanitary.

The experts urged Southeast Asian countries, as well as the countries of origin of the trafficked workers, to provide help more quickly and increase efforts to protect victims and prevent the scams from taking place.  

This should include efforts that “go beyond surface-level public awareness campaigns” and which address the drivers of forced cyber-criminality – poverty, lack of access to reasonable work conditions, education and healthcare.

Other recommendations to governments included addressing the insufficient regular migration options that push people into the arms of people traffickers.

Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, and Vitit Muntarbhorn, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, are neither staff members of the UN nor paid by the global organization. 

Proliferation of scam farms post-pandemic

The dark inner workings of scam farms were revealed in a UN News investigation last year which found that they had proliferated following the coronavirus“>COVID-19 pandemic.

“Southeast Asia is the ground zero for the global scamming industry,” said Benedikt Hofmann, from the UN agency to combat drugs and crime, UNODC.

“Transnational organised criminal groups that are based in this region are masterminding these operations and profiting most from them,” said Mr. Hofmann, Deputy Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, at a Philippines scam farm that was shut down by the authorities in March 2024. 

When UN News gained access to the compound, it was found to have housed 700 workers who were “basically fenced off from the outside world,” Mr. Hofmann explained.

“All their daily necessities are met. There are restaurants, dormitories, barbershops and even a karaoke bar. So, people don’t actually have to leave and can stay here for months.”

Escaping was a near-impossible task and came at a hefty price.

“Some have been tortured and been subjected to unimaginable violence on a daily basis as punishment for wanting to leave or for failing to reach their daily quota in terms of money scammed from victims,” the UNODC official insisted.

“There are multiple types of victims, the people who are being scammed around the world, but also the people who are trafficked here held against their will and who are exposed to violence.”

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Misogyny has become a political strategy — here’s how the pandemic helped make it happen

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Brianna I. Wiens, Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Rhetoric, University of Waterloo

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more overt forms of gendered hate have jumped from obscure internet forums into the mainstream, shaping culture and policy.

Social media doesn’t just reflect sexist, anti-feminist views; it helps to organize, amplify and normalize them.

Backlash against women and LGBTQ+ communities has become more overt, co-ordinated and is gaining political traction. As the United States rolls back reproductive rights and passes anti-LGBTQ+ laws, it is important to understand how digital culture fuels this regression.

While these shifts may seem distant, Canadian politics are not immune. Similar rhetoric has emerged in debates over education, gender identity, health care and so-called “parental rights.”

Read more:
‘Parental rights’ lobby puts trans and queer kids at risk

Our ongoing research maps how the pandemic accelerated the rise of online misogyny, especially through “manosphere” influencers and far-right rhetoric.

Drawing from more than 21,000 podcast episodes and digital artifacts, we are investigating how everyday online content works to erode women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. This rhetoric normalizes misogynistic, transphobic and homophobic views and repackages gender inequities as common sense.

How the pandemic fuelled digital misogyny

COVID-19 lockdowns set the stage for a surge in online radicalization. Isolated men and boys increasingly turned to social media for connection — spaces where manosphere personalities like English-American social media influencer Andrew Tate and American conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro gained momentum.

These figures blend anti-feminist messaging with broader pandemic-era anxieties, turning gender roles into moral and political battlegrounds.

Conservative influencers who once focused on vaccine skepticism began pivoting to anti-gender content. Steve Bannon’s podcast, for example, moved from pedalling public health disinformation to pushing narratives that feminism and LGBTQ+ rights are threats to western civilization.

Before the internet, radicalization usually required personal contact. Now, people can self-radicalize online, engaging with algorithm-driven content and communities that reinforce extremist beliefs, often without ever interacting with a recruiter. This shift coincided with a marked rise in reported online hate speech and offline hate crimes.

Misogyny as a mobilizing force

Meanwhile, women’s experiences during the pandemic — over half of whom are caregivers in Canada — involved increased labour at home and in front-line jobs. This left little time or energy for the organizational work necessary to combat the rising tides of sexism and misogyny.

Instead, public discourse began to increasingly valourize “tradwife” ideals and homemaking. This ensured traditional gender roles were brought back into the mainstream, not just as personal preferences, but as broader cultural expectations.

Though this misogyny appears to be fringe, it echoes mainstream policies that threaten reproductive health care, restrict gender expression and paint feminism as a threat to national stability.

Project 2025, the well-known policy platform from U.S. conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, lays out an agenda to repeal reproductive rights, undermine LGBTQ+ protections and expand state control over gender and family life.

Read more:
How Project 2025 became the blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term

How misogynist narratives are normalized

These misogynist ideas are reinforced in popular culture. In May 2024, NFL player Harrison Butker used his commencement address at Benedictine College to tell women graduates that their true calling was to become wives and mothers.

Such rhetoric serves to re-establish patriarchal hierarchies by narrowing women’s roles to domestic life. But this isn’t about family values, it’s about power. Moves in the U.S. to restrict women’s reproductive autonomy and democratic access to vote make this abundantly clear.

While feminists pushed back, manosphere podcast influencers rushed to Butker’s defense. American white supremacist Nick Fuentes celebrated the speech as a manifesto, while Shapiro framed it as uncontroversial truth.

Our analysis of podcast episodes from Shapiro and Fuentes, among others, shows how misogynist and racist narratives are reinforced through repetition and emotional framing. In episodes focused on Butker’s commencement speech, there were significant concentrations of hate speech and misogyny in the episodes.

Both Shapiro and Fuentes positioned feminism as a threat and framed motherhood as women’s true vocation. Shapiro downplayed the backlash against Butker as liberal outrage through calculatedly mainstream language that used sanitized, “family values” language.

Fuentes promoted an extreme theocratic vision rooted in white Catholic nationalism. In Episode 1,330 of his America First podcast, he said, “I want women to be veiled. I don’t want them to be seen. I want them to be listening to their husbands.”

These talking points consistently align with Butker’s original sentiment and reflect broader political efforts to erode gender equity, as seen in political documents like Project 2025.

Other public figures like Texan megachurch pastor Joel Webbon went even further, advocating for the public execution of women who accuse men of sexual assault — a horrifying example that circulated in manosphere circles.

From the fringes to the mainstream

What’s happening online is not just cultural noise; it’s a co-ordinated effort by conservative political organizations, media outlets and right-wing influencers to shape gender norms, undermine equality and roll back decades of feminist progress.

When misogyny becomes a political strategy, it doesn’t stay confined to podcasts or memes. It seeps into everyday vernacular, court rulings and public policy, and it’s global in scope.

This isn’t new, either. In 2012, Australia’s then-prime minister, Julia Gillard, called out sexist language in parliament, including being labelled a “witch” and subjected to dismissive catcalls. Her speech highlighted the normalization of misogynistic vernacular in politics, but also triggered public backlash, including having anti-immigration remarks misattributed to her.

Similarly, in the lead-up to Germany’s 2021 federal election, Greens party candidate Annalena Baerbock faced co-ordinated disinformation and smear campaigns from foreign entities aimed at undermining her credibility and questioning her “maternal suitability” in the public eye. Digitally altered nude photos, fake protest images and disinformation graphics were circulated.

These campaigns reflect how misogyny is weaponized to influence elections, and how such campaigns can be a threat to national security.

A 2022 #MeToo litigation analysis showed how, despite increasing awareness around sexual assault and harassment, U.S. courts often use legal language that reinforces victim-blaming by placing victims in the grammatical subject position of sentences. For example, phrases like “the victim failed to resist” or “the victim did not report the incident immediately” shift focus onto the victim’s behaviour rather than the perpetrator’s actions.

These details continue to affect broader legal narratives and public acceptance.

Digital platforms are battlegrounds

Recognizing these connections is crucial. As far-right movements gain ground by repackaging ideas about gender as nostalgic “truth” or “tradition,” we need to recognize that digital platforms are not neutral, nostalgic spaces.

Rather, they are conversational battlegrounds where power is contested and jokes, tweets and speeches carry real political weight.

In the fight for gender equity, the internet is not just a mirror that reflects multiple realities. It’s a tool built by the tech industry that was never intended to democratize communication, labour or social roles. Right now, that tool is being weaponized to signal and reassert patriarchal control.

Brianna I. Wiens receives research funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Nick Ruest receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Shana MacDonald receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

– ref. Misogyny has become a political strategy — here’s how the pandemic helped make it happen – https://theconversation.com/misogyny-has-become-a-political-strategy-heres-how-the-pandemic-helped-make-it-happen-256043

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Pepfar funding to fight HIV/Aids has saved 26 million lives since 2003: how cutting it will hurt Africa

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Eric Friedman, Researcher, Georgetown University

The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has been a cornerstone of global HIV/Aids prevention, care and treatment for over two decades. Pepfar has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the US, but its future is now uncertain. Public health scholars Eric A. Friedman, Sarah A. Wetter and Lawrence O. Gostin explain Pepfar’s history and impacts, as well as what may lie ahead.

The early years

Many people today have forgotten the sheer devastation that the Aids pandemic wrought on the African continent, first spreading widely in east Africa in the 1980s. By the end of the 20th century, life expectancy in the region had decreased from 64 to 47 years.

Millions of children were infected and many grew up as orphans, with HIV taking the life of one or both of their parents. Children, especially girls, were taken out of school to nurse sick relatives or because school fees were unaffordable.

Underfunded health systems were near collapse, as were the economies of many African countries.

Infection rates in several countries on the continent topped 30% of their adult populations.

These devastating figures persisted despite the discovery of highly effective antiretroviral therapies in the 1990s. These drugs rapidly became widely available in rich countries, beginning in 1996, leading to an 84% decline in death rates over four years.

But cost kept the drugs out of reach for African countries.

Only about 100,000 of the 20 million people infected with HIV in Africa were accessing drug treatment in 2003.

The turnaround

A major breakthrough came when US president George W Bush proposed a bold global initiative, Pepfar, in his 2003 State of the Union Address. Pepfar would dedicate US$15 billion over five years with the goals of preventing 7 million new infections, treating 2 million people, and caring for another 10 million infected with HIV or orphaned by the disease.

By 2005, more than 800,000 people were being treated for HIV in Africa – an eightfold increase from only two years prior. Under Pepfar, the costs of antiretroviral treatment per person per year in low- and middle-income countries fell from US$1,200 in 2003 to just US$58 in 2023.

Pepfar maintained bipartisan support throughout both Democratic and Republican-led administrations and Congresses. Through 2018, it had been reauthorised three times, each for five years.

The programme has lived up to its promise. The investment of over US$110 billion since being launched has been transformative, with sub-Saharan Africa benefiting the most.

Globally, Pepfar has saved 26 million lives and prevented nearly 8 million babies from being born with HIV. In 2024, more than 20 million people were receiving HIV treatment through Pepfar, which was also supporting well over 6 million orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers, and enabled nearly 84 million people to be tested for HIV that year.

Its importance extends beyond Aids. The programme directly supports more than 340,000 health workers, a tremendous contribution in Africa especially, given severe health worker shortages in much of the continent.

Pepfar-supported health services integrate HIV services with tuberculosis care, treatment and prevention. And since 2019, Pepfar has been part of a partnership for screening and treating women with HIV for cervical cancer, focused on 12 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

But the past two years have been ones of political discord and major disruption.

Troubles begin

The trouble began in May 2023, with Pepfar due for a five-year reauthorisation.

A key member of Congress, along with organisations against abortion, raised concerns that Pepfar was supporting abortions, even though there was no such evidence at the time. In fact, by law Pepfar is prohibited from supporting abortions.

House Republicans sought to include abortion restrictions in the Pepfar reauthorisation. But Congress passed a reauthorisation bill without abortion provisions in March 2024, to last until 25 March 2025.

Ever since then, the threats posed to a five-year Pepfar reauthorisation have grown.

The Trump effect

In January, Pepfar reported to Congress that its own investigators had found that four nurses in Mozambique had used Pepfar funding to perform abortions (which are legal in Mozambique), 21 in all. Pepfar officials froze funds to the four nurses and required staff to attest to understanding that they were prohibited from providing abortion as part of US-funded health services.

Days later Pepfar, along with most other US foreign assistance programmes, suffered a severe blow. President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing all further disbursements and new obligations of foreign assistance funds for 90 days, pending a sweeping review.

Four days later, secretary of state Marco Rubio issued a directive that went even further, also requiring organisations to stop work, even those that had already received funds needed to operate.

By 27 January, virtually all US foreign assistance programmes had come to a halt, including Pepfar programmes.

Following an outcry, Rubio issued a waiver for lifesaving humanitarian assistance on 28 January. With confusion over what was covered, including whether the waiver encompassed HIV medicines, he issued another waiver on 1 February, covering Pepfar treatment and care programmes, including prevention of and treatment for TB and other opportunistic infections, as well as prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes.

But organisations receiving US foreign assistance funds needed to get individual approval to resume, and the administration had put much of USAid’s staff on administrative leave. USAid (along with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has a central role in administering Pepfar. Many others, including contractors embedded in USAid operations, have been furloughed or fired.

Very few people existed to process requests to resume work. Furthermore, USAid’s payment system appeared not to be working.

The decisions of the Trump administration are being challenged in court in the US on the grounds that they are illegal and unconstitutional because they are usurping Congress’s power to determine how the US government spends funds, among other violations of the law.

Nonetheless, as of this writing, despite a court order to resume funding, it remains entirely frozen, and most programmes are still shut down. The day after the court ordered the government to pay nearly US$2 billion it owes organisations for work already done, the administration revealed that it had terminated the vast majority of foreign assistance awards, including some for Pepfar. Details have not been made public. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court put a short-term pause on the lower court’s order to immediately pay the money already owed.

The impact

The impact has been immediate. People on HIV treatment could not pick up additional medicine, leading to treatment interruption. Pepfar-funded health services had to turn away patients. Health workers supported by Pepfar, among them 40,000 in Kenya, could no longer be paid.

Many organisations that relied on Pepfar funds also had to lay off staff. Community groups have been affected and many have suspended their services entirely.

It remains unclear what the future holds – how severe the cuts will be, and to what programmes. In the near term, much depends on the courts and whether the administration implements court orders, as it has yet to do. In the longer term, Congress could seek to resume Pepfar to its former strength, though this would mean acting against the administration’s wishes. Even then, it is not clear whether the administration would spend the money allocated, and the damage already done to Pepfar programmes and trust in the US government will not be repaired quickly.

Pepfar is currently funded at US$7.5 billion annually. It accounts for over 10% of all US foreign assistance and over half of US global health assistance.

The separate Pepfar waiver suggests the deepest support for Pepfar is for HIV treatment programmes, as well as others meant to be protected under the waiver. Barring vast cuts to foreign assistance and Pepfar, these programmes are most likely to be at least spared, though the administration has terminated even some grants that had been covered by the waiver.

Other Pepfar programmes, particularly with respect to HIV prevention, are most vulnerable.

Rethinking priorities

The vulnerability of different African countries to Pepfar cuts varies widely. Some fund most of their own HIV programmes. South Africa’s HIV programmes are 74% domestically funded, with the balance coming from Pepfar (17%) and the Global Fund (7%).

But Pepfar funding accounts for about 90% of all HIV funding in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire, and more than half of HIV medicines purchased for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zambia are purchased by the US.

If there are significant Pepfar funding cuts, it is doubtful that other wealthy countries will be able to compensate. And because the US, through Pepfar, is the largest contributor to the Global Fund, it is unlikely that the Global Fund could fill the gap either.

Under these circumstances, unless countries increase their domestic HIV spending, the dramatic progress in combating HIV/Aids in Africa could begin to become undone.
The conversation in Africa must focus on ending reliance on foreign assistance and developing resilient financing mechanisms to continue the fight to end Aids.

Lawrence O. Gostin is Director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law

Eric Friedman and Sarah Wetter do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Pepfar funding to fight HIV/Aids has saved 26 million lives since 2003: how cutting it will hurt Africa – https://theconversation.com/pepfar-funding-to-fight-hiv-aids-has-saved-26-million-lives-since-2003-how-cutting-it-will-hurt-africa-250413

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Can the NHS shift from treatment to prevention? What healthcare bosses think
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lisa Knight, Head of External Engagement & Professional Programmes, Liverpool John Moores University

PongMoji/Shutterstock

Imagine a healthcare system where preventing illness is just as important as treating it. This is the vision for the English NHS – but right now, it’s still far from reality. To become more sustainable and better serve patients in the long run, the NHS needs to shift its focus from reactive care to proactive, preventative support.

On July 3 2025, the UK government published its Fit for the Future: Ten-Year Health Plan for England, laying out a blueprint to rebalance the health service toward prevention, digital transformation and localised care. The plan includes:
- expanding up to 300 neighbourhood health centres to bring preventative services closer to communities
- digitising services with 24/7 access through the NHS app, AI triage – the use of artificial intelligence to help prioritise and assess patients more efficiently, particularly in high-demand areas like emergency departments, GP surgeries and outpatient care – and robot-assisted surgery
- tackling chronic illness earlier, including more support for obesity, smoking cessation and mental health
- integrating prevention into everyday care, with a shift in national performance targets to better reflect long-term health outcomes.
Prime minister Keir Starmer described it as a shift “from a sickness service to a health service,” marking a deliberate move away from crisis response toward early intervention and community-based support.

But making this vision real won’t be easy.

System still isn’t built for prevention

In my research, I’ve looked at what good leadership should look like in the NHS – especially within England’s new integrated care systems (ICSs). A key part of these systems is place-based partnerships.

These are local collaborations between NHS services, councils, charities and community groups, all working together to improve people’s health. The idea is to better join up care in each area and tackle the broader issues that affect health, such as housing, education and access to support.

I spoke to NHS leaders, including chief executives of major health organisations, on the basis of anonymity, who agree that the system needs to change. But many of them say it will face major obstacles – especially financial constraints and fragmented funding models that continue to reward reactive care, such as A&E. As one NHS leader put it:

All the things that come down from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care respond to the now, rather than where we are going.

While the ten-year plan lays out ambitions for rebalanced funding, existing financial mechanisms won’t support this shift. The NHS can overspend during emergencies, but local authorities – who fund most social care and public health – must stay within strict budgets.

This undermines integration and creates unequal footing between services. One senior leader noted”

Local authorities will never consider us as a partner until we get our act together on finance… you’ve got to sit back and look at what impression that gives them – that we’re not equals.

The ten-year plan acknowledges these disparities but offers limited detail on how to resolve them. Without concrete reform of funding flows and accountability structures, prevention may remain a priority in name only.

In 2024, the health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, described the NHS as “broken” and called for a review to expose the “hard truths” needed to fix it. He has been outspoken in championing both prevention and better integration with social care, viewing these as key to reforming a system overwhelmed by rising demand and worsening outcomes.

Improving housing, social care, education, and jobs can reduce reliance on costly hospital treatments and significantly enhance overall health. In 2022, the NHS took a structural step toward this by merging health and social care services into “integrated care systems”, aiming to better coordinate services across sectors.

However, it has now been more than a decade since key targets for emergency care, hospital waiting times, or cancer services were met – raising questions about whether structural changes alone are enough.

The COVID pandemic deepened these pressures. Waiting lists for treatment surged, while NHS staff faced soaring stress levels. Many healthcare leaders describe the current moment as a perfect storm, in which long-term planning is increasingly difficult while trying to meet immediate needs.

Why risk and measurement matter

Preventative services, new technologies and integrated care models carry uncertainty. Leaders are understandably hesitant to shift resources away from acute services when “hospitals get the headlines.” One told me:

We’re shuffling public service delivery cash around and not thinking through how we develop something fundamentally different.

National performance frameworks also reinforce this inertia. Most targets still focus on wait times, emergency response, and treatment outcomes. As one executive put it:

We manage what’s measured… If we were made to look at deprivation figures and elective recovery figures based on postcode and ethnicity, that might change the conversation.“

The ten-year plan promises new indicators and better data sharing, but it remains to be seen whether these tools will actually shift behaviour at scale.

Listening to communities?

An effective shift to prevention requires more than structural reform – it needs genuine community engagement. One of the aims of integrated care systems was to involve local people in decisions about their health. Most leaders I have interviewed support this principle, but many admit that public involvement remains limited: “We’re not doing enough to listen… We’re not giving people opportunities.”

The ten-year plan reiterates the importance of local voices and promises a stronger focus on “co-produced care,” but delivery will depend on time, trust and cultural change within the system.

My research suggests that the NHS won’t be fixed by continuing to treat illness after it happens. It must evolve into a service that prevents poor health at its root – in homes, schools, workplaces and local communities.

The government’s ten-year plan offers a renewed opportunity to make this shift. But if the plan is to succeed, it will require more than bold promises. It demands redesigned funding, rebalanced risk, shared power with communities – and, above all, the political will to change the system before it collapses under its own weight.

Lisa Knight is affiliated with Mersey and West Lancashire NHS Trust as a Non-Executive Director

– ref. Can the NHS shift from treatment to prevention? What healthcare bosses think – https://theconversation.com/can-the-nhs-shift-from-treatment-to-prevention-what-healthcare-bosses-think-234601
MIL OSI Analysis –
July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: The pandemic is still disrupting young people’s careers

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sviatlana Kroitar, Honored Research Visiting Fellow, Labour Studies, University of Leicester

Goksi/Shutterstock

Unlike previous economic downturns, the COVID pandemic created a crisis that disrupted both education and employment, abruptly halting young people’s emerging careers and clouding their hopes for the future. It doubly affected those transitioning into adulthood, out of school or university and into work, and it threatened the job security of those embarking on their careers when the pandemic began.

There has been a disproportionate and often hidden cost borne by young people which has had a lasting impact on their career paths, financial independence and mental wellbeing.

The pandemic sparked widespread educational disruption. Schools were closed, there was a rapid switch to online learning and exams were cancelled. This hindered young people’s ability to acquire essential knowledge, skills and qualifications.

This aggravated existing educational gaps, particularly between students from different backgrounds, and those with and without reliable digital access and learning support.

The cancellation of internships and work placements – vital for practical experience – left many with a gap in their skills. This may have increased the pressure to undertake unpaid work for employability.

Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

Young people are heavily concentrated in precarious, in-person employment sectors such as hospitality and retail. These jobs are characterised by temporary contracts, low wages and limited benefits.

This instability made them acutely vulnerable during the pandemic. Precarious roles offered few safety nets, leading to immediate job losses or reduced hours. Labour markets contracted sharply, especially in in-person sectors. This affected young people in particular, who faced higher job losses and unemployment.

Graduate recruitment also plummeted as companies froze or reduced entry-level hiring, creating a bottleneck for university leavers. This convergence of job losses and a shrinking graduate market made securing stable employment exceptionally difficult.

The pandemic also magnified existing vulnerabilities. It exacerbated hardship and job insecurity for young people who were already marginalised and disadvantaged. Young people already in non-standard employment – such as gig work, zero-hours contracts or temporary roles – experienced disproportionately severe outcomes.

The situation was the same for young people from lower-income backgrounds, women and disabled young people.

Less affluent young people often lack financial support from their families. This means deeper financial instability, increased debt and housing insecurity. These issues were exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic on employment.

Precarity carries elevated long-term risks, including prolonged low wages and stunted career progression. This often delays the achievement of typical adult milestones such as financial autonomy and independent living.

Young people may have been more inclined to take any available work.
Raushan_films/Shutterstock

Economic uncertainty destabilised emerging careers, forcing young people to rethink their options – a situation dubbed “precarious hope”. Many graduates, feeling less prepared, lowered their expectations.

They may well have prioritised finding any available work, taking jobs that didn’t match their qualifications, leading to lower wages and poorer working conditions.

Transitions to adulthood

Research has found that the pandemic created significant disruptions to the typical transition to adulthood. A prominent trend was the rise of “boomerang” trajectories: young adults returning to live with parents due to economic hardship or job loss.

More broadly, the pandemic contributed to delayed milestones such as leaving home, achieving financial independence and building stable relationships, creating prolonged dependence for many.

The pandemic also blurred young professional identities. Disrupted final years of study and remote transitions stripped away traditional markers of closure. Cancelled exams, internships and graduations plunged many into prolonged limbo.

This absence of clear rites of passage and the unexpected conclusion to studies added ambiguity to young people’s ideas of their own identity and life paths. This lack of clear professional selves left young people feeling helpless, their future out of their hands.

The psychological toll

The pandemic inflicted a profound psychological burden on young people. The loss of expected life passages, social and professional connections and routines fostered feelings of isolation, stagnation and diminished control. This distress was amplified by relentless uncertainty surrounding disrupted education, altered qualifications and a volatile job market.

A “COVID echo” continues to resonate for young people. Graduates from the pandemic period may still feel that they lag behind in their careers.

The early disruptions it caused through lost entry-level job opportunities, fewer chances to build networks and hindered skill development continue to cast a shadow over the further career prospects of these young people.

Enduring negative consequences like this are termed “scarring”, threatening to affect employment and earning potential for years.

Addressing these potential long-term scars requires an overhaul of the youth labour market. This means tackling precarious work, enhancing training and re-skilling, and strengthening social safety nets. Robust support, as well as listening to what young people have to say about their futures, will be vital in empowering this generation to overcome the crisis and reach their full potential.

Sviatlana Kroitar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The pandemic is still disrupting young people’s careers – https://theconversation.com/the-pandemic-is-still-disrupting-young-peoples-careers-258768

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: The pandemic is still disrupting young people’s careers

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sviatlana Kroitar, Honored Research Visiting Fellow, Labour Studies, University of Leicester

Goksi/Shutterstock

Unlike previous economic downturns, the COVID pandemic created a crisis that disrupted both education and employment, abruptly halting young people’s emerging careers and clouding their hopes for the future. It doubly affected those transitioning into adulthood, out of school or university and into work, and it threatened the job security of those embarking on their careers when the pandemic began.

There has been a disproportionate and often hidden cost borne by young people which has had a lasting impact on their career paths, financial independence and mental wellbeing.

The pandemic sparked widespread educational disruption. Schools were closed, there was a rapid switch to online learning and exams were cancelled. This hindered young people’s ability to acquire essential knowledge, skills and qualifications.

This aggravated existing educational gaps, particularly between students from different backgrounds, and those with and without reliable digital access and learning support.

The cancellation of internships and work placements – vital for practical experience – left many with a gap in their skills. This may have increased the pressure to undertake unpaid work for employability.

Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

Young people are heavily concentrated in precarious, in-person employment sectors such as hospitality and retail. These jobs are characterised by temporary contracts, low wages and limited benefits.

This instability made them acutely vulnerable during the pandemic. Precarious roles offered few safety nets, leading to immediate job losses or reduced hours. Labour markets contracted sharply, especially in in-person sectors. This affected young people in particular, who faced higher job losses and unemployment.

Graduate recruitment also plummeted as companies froze or reduced entry-level hiring, creating a bottleneck for university leavers. This convergence of job losses and a shrinking graduate market made securing stable employment exceptionally difficult.

The pandemic also magnified existing vulnerabilities. It exacerbated hardship and job insecurity for young people who were already marginalised and disadvantaged. Young people already in non-standard employment – such as gig work, zero-hours contracts or temporary roles – experienced disproportionately severe outcomes.

The situation was the same for young people from lower-income backgrounds, women and disabled young people.

Less affluent young people often lack financial support from their families. This means deeper financial instability, increased debt and housing insecurity. These issues were exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic on employment.

Precarity carries elevated long-term risks, including prolonged low wages and stunted career progression. This often delays the achievement of typical adult milestones such as financial autonomy and independent living.

Young people may have been more inclined to take any available work.
Raushan_films/Shutterstock

Economic uncertainty destabilised emerging careers, forcing young people to rethink their options – a situation dubbed “precarious hope”. Many graduates, feeling less prepared, lowered their expectations.

They may well have prioritised finding any available work, taking jobs that didn’t match their qualifications, leading to lower wages and poorer working conditions.

Transitions to adulthood

Research has found that the pandemic created significant disruptions to the typical transition to adulthood. A prominent trend was the rise of “boomerang” trajectories: young adults returning to live with parents due to economic hardship or job loss.

More broadly, the pandemic contributed to delayed milestones such as leaving home, achieving financial independence and building stable relationships, creating prolonged dependence for many.

The pandemic also blurred young professional identities. Disrupted final years of study and remote transitions stripped away traditional markers of closure. Cancelled exams, internships and graduations plunged many into prolonged limbo.

This absence of clear rites of passage and the unexpected conclusion to studies added ambiguity to young people’s ideas of their own identity and life paths. This lack of clear professional selves left young people feeling helpless, their future out of their hands.

The psychological toll

The pandemic inflicted a profound psychological burden on young people. The loss of expected life passages, social and professional connections and routines fostered feelings of isolation, stagnation and diminished control. This distress was amplified by relentless uncertainty surrounding disrupted education, altered qualifications and a volatile job market.

A “COVID echo” continues to resonate for young people. Graduates from the pandemic period may still feel that they lag behind in their careers.

The early disruptions it caused through lost entry-level job opportunities, fewer chances to build networks and hindered skill development continue to cast a shadow over the further career prospects of these young people.

Enduring negative consequences like this are termed “scarring”, threatening to affect employment and earning potential for years.

Addressing these potential long-term scars requires an overhaul of the youth labour market. This means tackling precarious work, enhancing training and re-skilling, and strengthening social safety nets. Robust support, as well as listening to what young people have to say about their futures, will be vital in empowering this generation to overcome the crisis and reach their full potential.

Sviatlana Kroitar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The pandemic is still disrupting young people’s careers – https://theconversation.com/the-pandemic-is-still-disrupting-young-peoples-careers-258768

MIL OSI –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Remarks as prepared for delivery by Ashlie Crosson, 2025 National Teacher of the Year to the 104th Representative Assembly

Source: US National Education Union

Good afternoon NEA! And an extra-special hello to my folks right up front here. Aaron, Jeff, Rachael, and all of the PSEA delegation. I’m so happy to be here with you. You will tire of my voice long before I tire of your support!

President Pringle and the entire NEA leadership team, thank you for this invitation. It is an incredible honor to be here, among these people, in this moment.

I know what’s at stake today. We all do. And I know how this speech is supposed to end. But before we get going, I think we ought to take a pause. It is July, another school year has come to a close, and we deserve to acknowledge that achievement.

The work we do—in classrooms and libraries and nurses’ offices and school buses—is extraordinary. It’s complicated and demanding and ever-changing, but it is also joyful, unexpected, deeply human—and incredibly collaborative.

We are the cultivators of learning and belonging. We are the ones who unlock potential, who nurture talent, who stay after the bell and show up before the sun. At every level and in every facet of American education, we challenge, we question, we adapt, we create—and we do so together.

I am a first generation college graduate, my education is my most valuable possession. But I didn’t earn it alone. I owe my success to my teachers who demanded my very best, to my counselors who guided my path, to my grandmother who was a school secretary, my grandfather who was a custodian, my great grandmother who was a cafeteria worker. I stand here as living proof of our collective influence and our fundamental belief: public education is a public good.

This union works tirelessly on so. many. issues. The list of areas in need is never-ending. But let us celebrate where we all began, where we will always belong. We are educators. We are mentors. We are stewards. We guide. We lead. We serve.

That’s what binds us here today—not just strategy or slogans, but an unwavering love for our kids and our communities. Education is a noble calling and an incredible life of service. Please, let us take a moment to give this affirmation the round of applause you all deserve.

Okay…let’s begin.

What’s good for educators is what’s good for students.

That’s the gospel according to Adam Weber, one of our UniServ reps in Pennsylvania. Two years ago, he repeated it again and again to our Bargaining School at PSEA’s summer leadership conference until every one of us could recite it like a nursery rhyme.

Since then, it has become a mantra I will not whisper. What is good for educators is what is good for students.

But I wasn’t always so certain. For my first decade or so in teaching, like so many of us, I believed the best way to serve my students was to neglect myself. I wore exhaustion like a badge of honor. I poured every ounce of energy into my classroom, convincing myself that if their cup was full, then surely mine was too.

But there’s a difference between being altruistic and being self-sacrificing. And through the work of my union—through the solidarity and support of educators like you—I came to understand something transformative: the best way to advocate for our students truly is to advocate for ourselves.

All of us have a union “origin story.” It’s the moment in our careers when our place shifts from passive dues-payer to active participant. For my mentor, hers was instantaneous—it was the day she signed her teaching contract, because as a child, she watched her parents stand on the picket line. But for me, it took longer. I joined the union because she told me I had to, not because I understood the power it held.

The pandemic washed away my naivety. As I sat at home in nearly-empty Zoom rooms, suddenly, the job I had given so much of myself to was unrecognizable; the public had become increasingly critical, and the future had never been so uncertain. I started to confront a brutal question: Who am I if I’m not teaching? What happens if I walk away?

But then, something shifted.

Because while the world was spinning, my local was centering. They fought for COVID sick banks, 1:1 laptops, robust contact tracing, and the grace we deserved as we navigated the unknown.

For our members, they became the leaders we needed. But for me—they became my solid ground.

And that solid ground became a launching pad. Once I started paying attention—once I realized how deeply political our profession had always been—I knew I could no longer simply stay on the sidelines.

So I stepped up. I got involved. I found my people. And my people helped me to find my voice.

A lot has changed since that ah-ha moment I had two years ago.

My first state-wide union event was our political institute in January 2024 followed a few months later by our PA House of Delegates. I remember in those spaces, in those moments, there was such a collective enthusiasm and optimism. In PA, Senator Bob Casey was still our ally on the hill, and President Pringle was telling us we deserved to win all the things.

But this past March, at our National Leadership Summit in Detroit, I encountered a different NEA. I could still feel the energy, but looming overtop of it was a sense of urgency, a tenacity, a burden of what the future may hold.

It is difficult to feel any sense of assurance when the best path forward has become an ever-moving target. But amidst the unknown, I am confident we can find comfort and resilience in what we do know.

And what we know is this: Respect doesn’t begin with a soundbite or a promise—it begins with us.

In how we show up.

In how we raise our voices.

In how we refuse to accept anything less than what our students and our colleagues deserve.

We stand here, resolved, not just for ourselves, but for our communities, our schools, and our students.

I stand here for CJ and Tucker, because the internet company refused to provide service to their rural address.

I stand here for Jayden, Gavin, and Luz who needed a support system more than they needed the student handbook.

I stand here for my sister, Sydney. Born in Vietnam and raised in central PA. In her 16 years of education, she never had a teacher who looked like her.

I stand here for the 70 teachers furloughed from my district during the great recession, and for my friend, Marissa, who resigned from her dream job to save herself.

We are the guardians—not just of our curricula and our classrooms—but of the conditions that allow our schools to thrive. I say this with full conviction, every day, but especially today:

Protecting education is how we protect our democracy.

America’s schools are one of the greatest democratic institutions we all share.

They are where kids learn to think critically, collaborate respectfully, and dream boundlessly.

They are where voices are heard, where differences are explored, and where possibility begins.

I teach in a rural, well-established community. My best friend’s house is older than our country. You can drive 40 minutes in either direction from our football field and you will still be in our school district. Out of pure curiosity, I did some Googling: there are three times as many cows in Mifflin County as there are kids. Chickens outnumber humans almost 3 to 1.

It can be easy for kids to feel confined to the expectations of their hometowns, especially where I come from. But school is where every kid learns—their upbringing is not a limitation, it’s a foundation. And that transformational shift comes from the opportunities we so carefully design. It comes from the efforts of educators.

Two weeks ago, one of our athletes ran a national championship-winning, 4-minute mile. For the past two years, our Technology Student Association has taken top honors at their national competition. Last month, 20 of our kids joined a growing group of alumni who have stamped their first passports on their school trip to Europe. And last week, those students and their families overflowed our board room in defense of their music program.

In my small town, I have celebrated with graduates as they earned their acceptance to military academies, Ivy-league schools, and community colleges. As they’ve received full ride scholarships and their family’s first-ever high school diplomas.

These stories, these moments of courage, accomplishment, and pride—they are why education is so important. In our classrooms, a child’s possibility transforms into potential and blossoms into prosperity.

We know what’s at stake. If our schools falter—if education is disrupted by disinvestment or division—then we don’t just lose a school system.
We lose our future.

But we don’t have to ask, “What do we do now?” We know this lesson plan. We’ve passed this test before. We. Have. All. The. Answers.

We recite, we repeat, we embody the undeniable, inalienable truth: What’s good for educators is what’s good for students.

NEA is what’s good for educators; union solidarity is what’s good for educators; dignity in our contracts and respect in our expertise and regard for our humanity is what’s good for educators. Equity in our classrooms is what’s good for educators. Investments in teacher retention and recruitment is what’s good for educators. Safe schools are what’s good for educators.

And when educators have what is good and necessary to do their jobs, America’s children become the real benefactors. That support is what enables us to recognize, to validate, to empower, to celebrate our students.

In this moment of challenge and consequence, I keep coming back to a poster that has hung in my classroom since my first day of teaching, Margaret Mead’s words of truth: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

We are that group. In every classroom, on every playground, at every board meeting.

We are thoughtful. We are committed. And we are powerful.

A union of educators is a union of advocacy, of camaraderie, of empathy. And it is one more opportunity for us to lead by example for the students we serve.

Now, more than ever, we are tasked with building a better future. With the strength of our union, a resilience that dares to endure, and a heart that has no bounds, I know we can find common ground. I know we can build forward progress. I know we can meet this moment. For our kids, for our colleagues, for our country.

Thank you.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: 4 July 2025 Departmental update WHO welcomes IMF support to Jordan for pandemic preparedness and response

Source: World Health Organisation

WHO welcomes the approval by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of the first ever Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) agreement focused on Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

On 25 June 2025, the Executive Board approved a new 30-month RSF arrangement to support Jordan’s efforts to address long-term vulnerabilities including strengthening capacity to respond to health emergencies and future pandemics. This support—amounting to up to US$ 700 million—will help enhance financial and policy capacity to mitigate those risks. In the context of declining external aid and a worldwide health financing crisis, this support represents a significant opportunity to boost domestic funding and invest in building resilient, sustainable health systems.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for new sources of financing to bolster health systems to make them more able to prevent and detect epidemics and pandemics, and to respond and withstand them when they strike,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO is proud to be working with the IMF and the World Bank to unlock financing from the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, and support countries to put it to work for a safer world.”

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) was established by the IMF in 2022 as a new loan-based funding mechanism. It aims to provide affordable, long-term financing to low- and lower-middle-income countries to address climate change and challenges preparing and responding to pandemics. The RST leverages Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) contributed by higher-income countries and offers financing with a 20-year maturity and a 10½-year grace period. While several RSF agreements have already been approved for climate-related purposes, this marks the first RSF arrangement approved by the IMF Executive Board specifically for pandemic preparedness and response and health-related objectives.

In 2024 WHO signed an agreement with the IMF and the World Bank Group to provide technical support for the definition and implementation of country-level RSF arrangements. In Jordan, WHO collaborated closely with the Ministry of Health to identify relevant policy measures aimed at strengthening the financing and operational preparedness system. This includes efforts to consolidate the budgetary and overall governance framework that will serve as the foundation for future health emergency response. Moving forward, WHO teams across the Organization are committed to supporting the implementation of these reform measures in collaboration with the IMF, national authorities, and local partners as part of the RSF arrangement.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: 4 July 2025 GOARN impact in the field: Brazil implements Go.Data for enhanced contact tracing

Source: World Health Organisation

Training sessions on Go.Data for health professionals from various states of Brazil to support the response to outbreaks and health emergencies [2022]. © Pan American Health Organization, Brazil.

Brazil, a vast country covering approximately 8.5 million km², is divided into 27 states and 5570 municipalities across five regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South. These regions are home to about 212 million people. Given this extensive territory, implementing new technologies and innovations to ensure quality healthcare access throughout the country is a significant challenge.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed several gaps in the public health system, particularly the need for an effective contact tracing strategy. In Brazil, there were no specific tools available for this purpose, prompting many localities to rely on monitoring spreadsheets or develop their own strategies.

In response, the first implementations of the Go.Data tool began in August 2021. Developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with partners at the Global Alert and Response Network (GOARN), Go.Data is a software designed to support outbreak response, particularly contact tracing efforts. It enables users to identify exposed individuals, monitor their health status, and visualize transmission chains. Two municipalities stood out in their use of the tool, applying it to investigate contacts in various situations, including within educational institutions. In these instances, more than 30 000 contacts were recorded. The implementation of the tool facilitated standardized contact tracing, allowing multiple professionals to collaborate concurrently. Furthermore, it supported the real-time creation of transmission chains, thereby offering crucial support in informed decision-making.

Following the success of various initiatives and the emergence of mpox in Brazil in 2022, efforts were made to implement state-level servers with support from the National Council of Health Secretaries. As a result, approximately 15 states installed the tool within their infrastructures, expanding its use across different contexts. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health also adopted the tool, integrating it into its infrastructure while complying with all necessary security protocols and requirements. This marked a significant milestone for Brazil, enabling all states to access the tool.

In 2023, once the server was established at the Ministry of Health, Go.Data was utilized to monitor individuals exposed to animals with avian influenza. During this process, a centralized server was recommended to consolidate information, allowing 15 states to access the same server. This model represented progress in hierarchical access management and the geographic distribution of information, thereby strengthening epidemiological surveillance in the country.

Building on this experience, since 2024, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the states, has been working to structure the national adoption of the tool in the context of measles and other diseases. To support this effort, two focal points have been trained in each state to ensure a timely response to epidemiological investigations in November 2023 by Pan American Health Organization (WHO Regional Office for the Americas or PAHO) and the Ministry of Health.

Epidemiology team from the state of Rio de Janeiro using Go.Data in response to an outbreak [2025]. © Pan American Health Organization, Brazil.

The implementation of Go.Data has streamlined contact investigations by providing a single online platform with regional access permissions, which enhances tracking and monitoring efforts. Brazil has successfully integrated this tool into its official case notification system, ensuring alignment with national guidelines. Furthermore, Go.Data is equipped with integrations for Power BI and Shiny, which improve data analysis and visualization capabilities. The development of guides and training courses focused on operational procedures has standardized processes and strengthened user competencies.

Felipe Lopes Vasconcelos, a national consultant for PAHO, reflects on the tool’s progress in the country. “We had the opportunity to understand the various realities at the state level in Brazil. Before introducing Go.Data, contact tracing was slow and lacked standardization. Today, we have already seen significant advances at different levels, and I believe we are moving toward a more timely response to outbreaks,” Felipe says.

The technical support provided by the WHO has been crucial in this process. Since 2020, the WHO team has offered continuous assistance, addressing all questions, needs, and suggestions from Brazil, which has contributed to the tool’s development over the years.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: In Dialogue with Haiti, Experts of the Human Rights Committee Welcome Efforts to Establish a New Constitution, Raise Questions on Measures to Combat Gang-Related Gender-Based Violence and Lynchings

Source: United Nations – Geneva

The Human Rights Committee today concluded its consideration of the second periodic report of Haiti on how it implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Committee Experts appreciated the referendum to establish a new national Constitution, while raising questions as to how the State was tackling the high level of violence against women and girls perpetuated by gang members and lynchings carried out by citizens, against a backdrop of distrust in the police.

One Committee Expert said they saw the referendum to establish a new Constitution in a positive light, as an attempt to reestablish the institutionality of the country.

Another Expert said that the scale of violence against women and girls was reportedly considerable, with sexual violence, including rape of children as young as five years old, gang rape, and forced prostitution, used as a weapon of control by gangs. According to reports, the judiciary were not sensitive to cases of gender-based violence and victims were hesitant to report cases. What measures were taken to encourage women to file complaints? Was there a fund to help survivors of violence? How were they supported by State services?

Lynchings continued to be regular and numerous, another Expert said, citing reports of more than 500 cases in 2023. These were often the work of self-defence groups in or around Port-au-Prince, who did not trust the police, mainly due to corruption. Was this violence investigated, including when the police were accused of supporting or encouraging it? Had the perpetrators of lynchings, stonings and mutilations been prosecuted and punished proportionately? How could trust be restored between the police and the civilian population?

Pedrica Saint Jean, Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights and head of the delegation, introducing the report, said from 2020 to 2025, Haiti was confronted with repeated political crises, marked by lockdown operations and successive protests. The COVID-19 pandemic, frequent floods and the earthquake of 14 August 2021, which devastated part of the Great South region, were additional challenges faced by the country. This complex situation was further aggravated by the assassination of the Haitian President on 6 July 2021.

Ms. Saint Jean said an agreement for a peaceful transition was reached on 3 April 2024, establishing a transition period with a nine-member Transitional Presidential Council and a Prime Minister, with the aim of restoring security, continuing constitutional reform, and organising democratic elections.

The delegation said several strategies had been undertaken to combat gender-based violence, including a national strategy that spanned from 2017 to 2024. An assessment of the strategy was almost completed. A gender-based violence cell had been established to train police officers to take the needs of female victims of violence into account. The Office to Combat Gender-Based Violence streamlined services for victims, enabling them to receive legal, psychosocial and medical assistance in one place. In areas with armed gangs, women were typically the primary victims. Violence was used as a weapon of repression.

The delegation also said the Government had always condemned lynchings, which were not part of the country’s culture. Incidents needed to be reported at a police station so perpetrators could be incarcerated and tried for their crimes. The community police were carrying out an awareness raising campaign to progressively build trust with the general population. Training sessions were being organised for police officers, with a view to protecting the population. When complaints were made against the police force, the national inspector for the police carried out investigations and measures were taken as necessary.

In concluding remarks, Ms. Saint Jean thanked the Committee for the kindness it had shown to the Haitian delegation, and the Experts for their insights. Haiti had taken due note of all recommendations and was determined to take further steps to develop effective, concrete responses to the Committee’s concerns relating to the implementation of the Covenant. Everybody was working to see the day when Haiti could leave the crisis behind.

Changrok Soh, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, said the Committee acknowledged the profound political, economic and humanitarian challenges facing Haiti, which had hampered efforts to protect human rights. Haiti was encouraged to take this opportunity to advance necessary reforms to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Covenant were fully recognised for all Haitians.

The delegation of Haiti was made up of representatives of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights; the Ministry of Justice and Public Security; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Social Affairs and Work; the Cabinet; the Government of Port-au-Prince; the Prime Minister’s Office; the Haitian National Police; the Anti-Violence Unit; and the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Some members of the delegation were unable to attend the meeting in person due to travel restrictions.

The Human Rights Committee’s one hundred and forty-fourth session is being held from 23 June to 17 July 2025. All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage . Meeting summary releases can be found here . The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage .

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m., Monday 7 July to begin its consideration of the fourth periodic report of Viet Nam (CCPR/C/VNM/4).

Report

The Committee has before it the second periodic report of Haiti (CCPR/C/HTI/2).

Presentation of Report

PEDRICA SAINT JEAN, Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights and head of the delegation , said between 2020 to 2025, Haiti had experienced both positive and negative developments. From a positive perspective, the Government had multiplied efforts in many areas to improve the rule of law and respect for human rights. However, the country had been plagued by unprecedent insecurity that required the intervention of a foreign force, through the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission on October 2, 2024. This force intervened in the context of an agreement signed between Haiti and Kenya on police and security cooperation in March 2024, following the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699.

From 2020 to 2025, Haiti was confronted with repeated political crises, marked by lockdown operations and successive protests which accompanied them. The COVID-19 pandemic, frequent floods and the earthquake of 14 August 2021, which devastated part of the Great South region, were additional challenges faced by the country. This complex situation was further aggravated by the assassination of the Haitian President on 6 July 2021.

An agreement for a peaceful transition was reached on 3 April 2024, establishing a transition period with a nine-member Transitional Presidential Council and a Prime Minister, with the aim of restoring security, continuing constitutional reform, and organising democratic presidential elections. The Council was also tasked with economic and judicial reforms and combating corruption. The agreement provided for the establishment of three key bodies, including the Body for the Control of Government Action, in charge of controlling the acts of the Executive, since Parliament was currently non-existent; the National Security Council, to respond to the various aspects of the country’s security crisis; and the National Conference, accompanied by a steering committee. The Government had already established the National Security Council and the National Conference and its steering committee. The referendum decree, resulting from the work of the National Conference and the steering committee, would allow Haiti to have a new Constitution. Currently, efforts were underway to strengthen the capacities of the Haitian National Police and the Armed Forces of Haiti, which had a budget increase of 11 per cent in 2024-2025. An agreement was concluded with Colombia to monitor the Haitian coast, to curb the illicit trafficking of firearms.

The Government had attached great importance to the judicial reform already initiated by its predecessors. Six new Courts of First Instance and the corresponding Public Prosecutor’s Offices were created between September 2024 and April 2025. The law of 10 September 2018 created the National Council for Legal Assistance and established legal aid offices in 18 jurisdictions in Haiti, aiming to provide free legal assistance to those who were financially struggling. The Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure had previously been criticised by civil society in 2020. Following the revision of the two texts by a special commission, they were adopted on 24 June 2025. This marked an important step in the fight against insecurity, corruption and impunity.

Two other important decrees had been adopted in the context of judicial reform. The first, adopted on 16 April 2025, which created two specialised judicial poles: one for the repression of complex financial crimes and offences and the other for the repression of mass crimes and sexual violence. The second decree of 4 May 2023 sanctioned money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Haiti.

Despite Government efforts, due to the deteriorating security situation, the majority of prisons in Port-au-Prince had been vandalised, leading to the uncontrolled release of a number of detainees. The Government had been forced to relocate several jurisdictions to allow the resumption of judicial activities in minimum security conditions and the normal application of appropriate sentences and sanctions.

The Haitian State aimed to follow up on complaints against police officers for excessive use of force, and it organised human rights training sessions for police personnel. However, it was regrettable that, despite the Government’s efforts, some citizens, driven by anger at the atrocities committed by criminal groups, resorted to extreme methods, including the lynching of captured gang members, instead of handing them over to the authorities. The Government recognised the severity of these acts and strongly condemned all forms of mob justice.

The crisis in the country led to an increase in gender-based violence, particularly for displaced persons in camps. The Haitian State was working to protect and facilitate access to justice for survivors of violence, including through the creation of the Office for Combatting Gender-Based Violence as well as the organization of training adapted to the needs of survivors for police officers and judges. Medical, legal and psychosocial assistance were also offered to women and girls at internal displacement camps.

Article 262 of the Penal Code, adopted by decree on 23 June 2025, punished the perpetrators of acts of torture and barbarism, with sentences ranging from 15 to 20 years in prison. Prison overcrowding remained a major problem, especially with the destruction of the main prisons in March 2024. Instructions had been issued to the Public Prosecutor’s Offices and Courts of First Instance to carry out regular criminal hearings, with the aim of relieving overcrowding in the prisons in provincial cities.

The Transitional Presidential Council was making every effort to organise general elections in 2025 and to install a President elected on 7 February 2026. Despite its efforts, the Haitian State was aware that the implementation of the provisions of the Covenant had not yet reached a satisfactory level. However, Haiti pledged to do everything in its power to implement the provisions on the Covenant.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert acknowledged how difficult it was for the State party to participate in person in the dialogue and expressed gratitude to the delegation in Geneva. The Committee was aware of the grave humanitarian crisis suffered by Haiti for decades, compounded with the assassination of the President in 2021. In that context, the Committee noted an increase in widespread human rights violations and growing control of armed gangs in significant parts of Port-au-Prince, leaving the population more vulnerable to violence and human rights abuses, and leading to the displacement of more than one million people.

Were courts in Haiti directly applying the Covenant? Could examples be provided? Were courses on international human rights law and the Covenant provided in training to judges? The Committee had been informed of situations where civil servants had opposed the execution of orders handed down by judges to free individuals. Could this be explained? What role did these civil servants play in the judicial system? Had steps been taken to ratify the Optional Protocol of the Covenant on individual communications? In May 2025, a bill of law was presented on the development of a new constitution, with a decree adopted to hold a referendum on the issue. Was this bill in line with the rights enshrined in the Covenant? Was it realistic to carry out a referendum in the context of violence? When was the state of emergency ordered? Was it still in force? Which articles of the Covenant were suspended?

Did the current budget of the Office for Citizen Protection allow it to carry out its functions and extend its activities to the most remote parts of the country? Were there plans to expand the powers of the Office to allow it to consider human rights violations that had their origin in the acts of private entities?

What steps had been taken to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons? Were there laws in place to punish acts of discrimination against these groups? Had the State taken actions been to allow these people to carry out public demonstrations and to protect them? Had it adopted measures to change discriminatory cultural attitudes in Haitian society, to end stigmatisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons?

Another Expert said despite the crisis in the country, Haiti remained bound by its international obligations. The dialogue would address problems such as insecurity, the deep humanitarian crisis that the population was experiencing, the endemic violence of gangs, the forced displacement of the population, the dysfunction of the justice system, chronic impunity and serious challenges to the rule of law. All these problems were linked to corruption. The report published in 2023 by the United Nations Expert on Human Rights in Haiti stated that corruption in Haiti was “public enemy number one” and found that more than 90 per cent of Haitian civil servants did not comply with the national anti-corruption law. The Anti-Corruption Unit and the Central Financial Intelligence Unit, which were suspected of lacking independence, had brought nearly 100 major cases of corruption to justice, but these had not led to any convictions.

Did the State plan to set up a financial prosecutor’s office or judges specialised in the fight against corruption? Could more information be provided on the decree adopted on the creation of financial judicial units? What measures were being taken to support the work of the Anti-Corruption Unit and the Central Financial Intelligence Unit and to ensure that the cases referred were followed up independently?

Haiti had expressed its commitment to ensuring accountability for the serious violations committed during Jean-Claude Duvalier’s presidency. However, a case assessing these violations had been in the courts of cassation since 2014, and there had not been any progress. What explained the delay? Could the delegation enlighten the Committee on the situation of Jean Gabriel Robert, who was convicted in absentia in the case of the “Raboteau massacre”?

Information showed that the scale of violence against women and girls was considerable, with sexual violence, including rape, which was sometimes perpetrated against children as young as five years old; gang rape; and forced prostitution, used as a weapon of control by gangs. According to reports, the judiciary were not sensitive to cases of gender-based violence and victims were hesitant to report cases. What measures were taken to encourage women to file complaints? Was there a fund to help survivors of violence? How were they supported by State services?

According to information received by the Committee, lynchings continued to be regular and numerous, with more than 500 in 2023. These were often the work of self-defence groups in or around Port-au-Prince, who did not trust the police, mainly due to corruption. In addition, the 2024 report of the United Nations Expert on Human Rights in Haiti noted that police were passive, and it appeared that some murders were encouraged, supported or facilitated by the police forces. Was this violence investigated, including when the police were accused of supporting or encouraging it? Had the perpetrators of lynchings, stonings and mutilations been prosecuted and punished proportionately? How could trust be restored between the police and the civilian population?

Another Expert said specific steps had not been taken to combat impunity. What hope existed, looking forward to the immediate and long-term future, regarding a reversal of the situation? There were several cases in which there had been impunity for human rights violations. Attacks against the population in the La Saline suburb in 2018 had not been condemned by the Government and no steps had been taken to provide support to victims. What measures had been taken against the involvement of political agents in these cases? Why was the La Saline case withdrawn from the original judge?

Data showed that 28 percent of civil servants in Haiti were women. In 2019 a strategy was presented to ensure equality for women by 2030. What progress had been made? How would the State party solve the problem of the low rate of political representation of women in Haiti?

What actions were being taken to guaranteed women’s access to health care, in situations where criminal groups took control of health centres? How was access to medicines ensured?

Another Expert asked what Haiti’s prospects were looking forward? What urgent measures were envisaged to protect women and girls in areas under gang control? What mechanisms had been established to guarantee security and safety for survivors of sexual violence, and to encourage the reporting of cases? Could Haiti provide updated information on the draft law preventing violence against women and girls? Was there a timeline for its adoption? What had been done to bolster the amount of medical, legal and psychosocial services for survivors, particularly in areas under gang control? What measures were envisaged to protect the right to life of those in extreme poverty? Was there an intersectional strategy to prevent avoidable deaths linked to poverty?

What measures were taken to protect civilians living in areas under the control of armed gangs? What had been the result of the assistance from Kenya? Was it meeting the challenges? What guarantees existed when it came to the investigation of its own officers by the Haitian police? How was it ensured that the police did not carry out disproportionate use of force during protests? How was action being bolstered in areas under gang control?

Was there a road map regarding ratification of the Covenant’s Second Optional Protocol concerning the death penalty? How did the State party intend to ensure that those who had served their sentence were properly released? Had the system for monitoring judicial cases been reactivated? What efforts were underway to improve detention conditions? Were construction projects for new prisons still planned? How many women had access to shelters in the last three years? What measures were envisaged to guarantee all police stations should have trained personnel, particularly in areas most affected by police insecurity?

Responses by the Delegation

PEDRICA SAINT JEAN, Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights and head of the delegation , said the Government had priorities outlined in the April 2024 agreement on the peaceful transition, including combatting insecurity, conducting the referendum and bringing the country to elections to appoint a robust Government. To combat insecurity, the budget allocated to the police and armed forces had been increased, allowing them to better contain the problems they were confronting. The police, the Haitian armed forces, and the security mission needed to work together to combat insecurity to allow for the milestone referendum to be held. Nine electoral commissioners were currently out in the field assessing the requirements. Haiti was not waiting for the security issues to subside before moving to the referendum.

Haiti was doing its utmost to implement its commitments under the Covenant through a raft of measures. Six new courtrooms had been established in the country, allowing proximity between those needing to access the justice system and the infrastructure in place. Bureaus had been established to work on specific criminal areas, including mass crimes which had remained unpunished. For some time, courts had not been operational because they were in the hands of gangs. Two bureaus would be responsible for crimes of sexual violence, and another was responsible for financial crimes. Some 34 new judges and prosecutors had been appointed to support the justice system.

The method of choosing judges for the Anti-Corruption Unit had not hindered its independence. Cases were currently going ahead at the Court of First Instance. Three prisons had been built to international standards, with one dedicated to female inmates. Institutional measures had been put in place to freeze the funds of certain agencies which were found to be corrupt but had impunity from the Anti-Corruption Unit, and those responsible were being brought before the court.

The Government of Haiti had always condemned lynchings, which were not part of the country’s culture. Incidents needed to be reported at a police station so perpetrators could be incarcerated and tried for their crimes.

The delegation said several assessment missions had been established to gain an understanding of the situation of detention centres and propose tangible solutions. One of the main challenges was the provision of food, due to lack of access to main roads. To address this situation, the Justice Ministry sought to ensure that providers of food should be placed directly in situ. In the last few months, prisons had greater autonomy and managed their needs themselves, providing a better and tailored approach to local realities.

Haiti had done a lot to combat gender-based violence. This phenomenon was topical in Haiti, particularly when it came to displaced women. Several strategies had been undertaken to combat gender-based violence, including a national strategy that spanned from 2017 to 2024. An assessment of the strategy was almost completed. A gender-based violence cell had been established within the police, to train police officers to take the needs of female victims of violence into account. The Office to Combat Gender-Based Violence streamlined services for victims, enabling them to receive legal, psychosocial and medical assistance in one place. Psychosocial support services had been set up for women victims in internal displacement camps. Several initiatives had been adopted to bolster protections for minors, including host families and prevention and readaptation programmes for children recruited by armed games. Training and awareness raising sessions were organised for judges.

In areas with armed gangs, women were typically the primary victims. The number of victims was increasing, particularly against younger women, but violence by armed gangs was also affecting children and the elderly. Violence was used as a weapon of repression. There were still people in Haiti who did not want to report. During times of political turbulence, the phenomenon of violence against women was heightened. There was a need for awareness raising to eradicate the phenomenon. Women should not be used as an instrument to place pressure on the Government.

Incest had never been part of Haitian culture, but it did not mean this phenomenon did not exist. When incest occurred, people usually preferred to solve the issue in the family. Attention needed to be paid to the phenomenon of incest involving displaced people. The State sanctioned based on the relevant 2006 decree and used case law when dealing with these offences. It was important to continue legislating to bring tangible solutions to this phenomenon.

For 15 years, judges had been receiving training on the Covenant from the Government and the Haitian police.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons had been looked down on in Haiti; they were formerly not given the right to complain. While progress was not significant, these people were now considered to be fully fledged citizens who needed to be protected by the State and to enjoy their full human rights.

Quotas had been implemented calling for at least 30 per cent of decision-making posts to be held by women. This issue had been poorly addressed. In the new Constitution, the State was advocating for parity. Until there was a critical mass of women in decision-making posts, the problems they faced would persist. A series of consultations had been launched with officials to create incentive measures to promote equality regarding candidate lists.

The law on the organization of the Ministry on the Status of Women had not properly been reformed, which was why the Ministry had difficulties in playing its primary role. The Ministry submitted a law on its reorganization to ensure it could achieve its goals. By the start of next year, the State would launch its first national action plan covering the participation of women in restoring peace and security in Haiti. Work was being done with survivors in internal displacement camps to transform them into fully-fledged actors. Women, including young girls and survivors of violence in these camps, had been appointed as peace ambassadors, to sensitise the message of peace throughout Haiti.

Haiti was relying on the work of the Multinational Security Support Mission and the international community to help the police and armed forces overcome the corruption and security issues in the country.

Follow-up Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert asked follow-up questions, including on the functions to be undertaken by the bureaus on mass crimes, sexual crimes and financial crimes. This was a fantastic idea, but the bureaus needed to have the resources to operate properly. Other questions were asked on measures planned to restore the trust between the police and the justice system; lynchings committed by the police force; steps to tackle the circulation of weapons; and the mandate of the Office for Citizens’ Protection.

An Expert said they saw the referendum to establish a new Constitution in a positive light, as an attempt to reestablish the institutionality of the country. Who drafted this bill? Did it go through various sectors, with participation from civil society? What did the “green and red zones” mean? Were green zones under Government control? Did red zones mean there was no State control? What happened if there was a referendum in the red zones?

More questions were asked on how the long tradition of impunity could be alleviated; alternative measures to detention; detention beyond the lengths of sentences; efforts to prevent discrimination against women; and access to voluntary interruption of pregnancy. What was the Government’s perception of the processes involving the participation of the international community that aimed to improve the situation for the population of Haiti?

According to information received by the Committee, around 40 per cent of births enjoyed the proper medical support. How did midwives treat risky pregnancies? Did the State intend to include the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol in the planned reform of the draft Constitution?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the death penalty was abolished in Haiti through a decree adopted in 1987.

Regarding the red and green zones, there were currently zones under gang control, where the State was doing everything possible to convert them to green zones. Green zones were placed where the State could provide appropriate services to the population. The police were trying to gain access to the red zones to bring about peace and security. Progress had been made in penetrating many of the red zones; it was expected that there would be further progress in this area.

The referendum was a compulsory, milestone measure to lay the groundwork for national elections and allow the population to get their new Constitution. All different sectors of society had been consulted in the drafting of the new Constitution.

Haiti had implemented measures that aimed to provide a structure to prevent the free circulation of weapons, including weapons of mass destruction.

The delegation said there was a legal bureau on mass crimes and sexual violence in Port-au-Prince and another on financial crimes. The bureaus were comprised of 10 judges who worked with the police and financial oversight and regulatory bodies. Their operations were ensured by donors from the international community and the State.

The community police were carrying out an awareness raising campaign to progressively build trust with the general population. Training sessions were being organised for police officers, with a view to protecting the population. When complaints were made against the police force, the national inspector for the police carried out investigations and measures were taken as necessary.

Haiti had a plan to set up scanners at customs to prevent the flow of illegal weapons into the country. Controls at the border with the Dominican Republic and checks of containers coming from the United Staes had been strengthened, and strict checks were being conducted on private vehicles, including motorbikes. Authorities had also suspended land imports from the Dominican Republic, ensuring seizures of illegal imports. Despite this, Haiti was facing increased criminal activity and corruption, with the need for increased international support to reduce the weapons flow into Haiti.

Green zones were safe zones while red zones were ones where there was a heightened risk.

A draft of the new Constitution had been shared across different sectors to receive their inputs, which had been sent to the Committee responsible for the drafting of the new Constitution.

Haitian midwives played a key role in early detection of illnesses and in responding to complications during birth. They carried out post monitoring operatives in rural areas, while caesarean procedures were performed by obstetric doctors.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert asked if there were obstacles preventing Haiti from ratifying the Covenant’s Second Optional Protocol? Murderous attacks by gangs against ambulances had been reported, and health staff had fled the country. Did the Government have any plans to confront these problems? Haiti had an astonishing overcrowding rate in its prisons, at allegedly over 300 per cent. There was a lack of access to the appellate procedure for all inmates and for persons with disabilities. How did Haiti plan to resolve this problem?

Another Expert appreciated Haiti’s delegation comprised of high-level women. It was reported that police agents or persons acting with their complicity tortured inmates on a daily basis in prisons and police custody facilities. Why had the perpetrators of cases of torture not been prosecuted and brought to justice? Had there been capacity building of law enforcement in the area of torture? Why had the State not ratified the Convention against Torture?

Reports received by the Committee stated that forced evictions had become widespread since the earthquake in 2010, but this was denied by the State. It was alleged that these evictions affected a wide number of families and were not addressed by the State. What information was available about three resident families who had not taken up possession of reconstructed homes? Which Government civil servants were responsible for these families’ forced evictions? How had the Government taken steps to prosecute those involved?

Hurricane Matthew had affected more than 2.6 million people, including 600,000 children; what measures had been taken to protect them? Could information be provided on the distribution of financial aid and the resources used to reconstruct infrastructure following this natural disaster? During the imposed state of emergency, was it only economic rights which were affected? What solutions were available for those still awaiting assistance from the damage 10 years ago? What resources had been allocated to address housing issues?

A Committee Expert asked about the implementation of the National Plan to Combat Child Labour, adopted in 2019; what was the duration of the plan? Was it still in force or had a new plan been adopted? Could data on the number of children exploited and those in situations of begging be provided? What work had been done specifically on the exploitation of children by the Committee to Combat Human Trafficking?

Various reports had documented violence against children, who were recruited and used by the gangs and injured or killed as a result. An even more severe impact was felt by children with disabilities. The Secretary-General’s report had outlined 383 grave violations against children in 2024. In December 2024, the gangs had committed a high number of abductions, including of 17 girls and 10 boys. What measures had been taken by the State to combat these grave violations? To help minors, child soldiers and victims of armed groups, a Commission had been created to support the creation of a national network of shelters and rehabilitation centres. How did the State ensure that the Commission had the human and financial resources necessary to support its functions? What did its work consist of? Was the National Committee for Combatting Human Trafficking able to carry out its functions? What measures had been adopted along the Dominican-Haitian border to prevent trafficking of children who were then sold in the Dominican Republic?

It was understood that a commission to implement criminal reform was created in July 2024. What were the main reforms being carried out? What measures had been adopted to deal with the firebomb attacks on judges? How was the safety and security of judges being ensured? What was the current situation of the National Council for Legal Assistance? Regarding the appointment of judges in the Cassation Council, how was it ensured that the involvement of the Senate did not affect the Council’s independence? What role did the Council play in combatting corruption in the judicial sphere?

Another Committee Expert said people who were displaced often lost their identification documents. What was the State party doing to resolve this issue? Two journalists reporting on insecurity in Haiti had been executed in 2022. The Committee had also received information that five journalists were murdered in 2024, with no investigations carried out. Gang violence had also led to the closure and restriction of media, including the suspension of popular programmes on suspicion of serving as platforms for gangs. Journalists had also been threatened by gangs. How could elections take place if the State could not facilitate the free circulation of ideas? How did Haiti intend to combat impunity surrounding executions or ill-treatment of journalists? What was done to protect human rights defenders? How was it ensured that social media platforms were regulated?

In March 2025, anti-Government protests were held to decry the security context and inaction by the State. What measures had been taken to establish the responsibility of police directly involved in the use of force in suppressing peaceful demonstrations? What had been done to guarantee the work of non-governmental organizations in full security and free from harassment?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said overcrowding in prisons remained a major issue for the Government which it was working to address. Instructions had been issued to the prosecution offices and tribunals of the Courts of First Instance to encourage the holding of more criminal sessions, including sessions in which a jury was not present, with a view to relieving overcrowding in provincial prisons. In 2023 and2024, this occurred in 14 jurisdictions, leading to 159 convictions. In 2024, the total number of people detained in the country was around 12,000. The State had managed to capture around 12 prisoners who had escaped. The drop in the number of detainees in 2025 was explained primarily due to the escapes that followed the armed attacks carried out against certain penitentiary infrastructure. Courts had been actively engaged to implement non-custodial measures when appropriate, as a means of alleviating prison overcrowding. The Government recognised the need to prevent arbitrary arrests. Men, women and children were placed in different prisons. Despite the State’s efforts, there was only one police officer per every 14 detainees.

The Government remained committed to improving prison conditions, despite security constraints. The mortality rate had dropped between 2024 and 2025 thanks to coordinated action to provide medical care and humanitarian aid. Healthcare services had been established in several penitentiaries. In 2017, a Presidential Commission was established to shed light on deaths in the Port-au-Prince prison. It highlighted aggravating factors including severe overcrowding, insufficient hygiene and a lack of medical support, among others. Measures were implemented to improve nutrition, detention conditions and investigate causes of deaths.

The internal regulations of the penitentiary administration outlawed all forms of torture and inhumane treatment. Finances had been provided to the National Anti-Trafficking Committee to support the implementation of its national action plan. A protocol had been signed to guarantee legal aid to victims of trafficking. Some 100 students from the University of Haiti had received training on the issue of human trafficking. Several human traffickers had been prosecuted, however following the mass escapes in March 2024, a number of these traffickers were unfortunately able to escape.

The Constitution guaranteed that judges could not be dismissed. In the judicial hierarchy in Haiti, the Constitution had the highest ranking, followed by international conventions. In Haiti, the Constitution outlawed the death penalty in all areas, meaning there was no need to fear its reinstation. The ratification of the Second Optional Protocol could be discussed when the legislature was functional.

Families who were forcibly evicted due to the development of road infrastructure or for airport security purposes had a right to fixed compensation, as well as the right to appeal decisions blocking their access to redress.

A State project had been launched to combat domestic labour by children, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The project had been launched in 16 regions in the country and included a concrete list of jobs banned for children. Twenty-three surveys of young people had been conducted, allowing them to express themselves on themes including domestic labour, birth registration, violence against children, and education. A social protection project ensured monetary transfers for children under the age of five, pregnant women and persons with disabilities. The project was financed by the World Bank and allowed vulnerable families to provide care to their children. Around 25,000 homes received regular monetary transfers to the value of 40 United States dollars per month.

A professional training programme had been launched in conjunction with the International Labour Organization, allowing for the training of more than 800 vulnerable teenagers in various technical and farming activities. Some 9,200 children had received support for school re-enrolment. Four thousand vulnerable homes at risk of family separation received monetary transfers to support income-generating activities, as well as financial education. A pilot programme had been launched in targeted communes with the United Nations Children’s Fund, which had developed a foster programme for children taken out of situations of domesticity to support their reintegration.

Legal assistance officers had been established in 12 jurisdictions and the rollout was ongoing. A decision would be made on the draft Constitution based on a participatory process. A Commission had been established to follow up on gender-based violence cases in the country.

Steps had been taken to prevent the phenomenon of forced evictions, but results were still limited. The Government had not been encouraging forced evictions and had taken new steps to support victims. Demolished homes had been rebuilt and several previous owners had already taken ownership of their new homes. Authorities ensured that no one living in camps or informal housing was evicted without a humane alternative provided.

The Haitian State reiterated its commitment to freedom of the press and its respect for the work of human rights defenders. Efforts were made to ensure journalists could freely conduct their work, including by strengthening protection mechanisms. Haitian authorities reaffirmed their desire to shed light on the murders of several journalists, which were currently at being investigated by the Public Prosecutor.

The courts did not all apply the Covenant in the same way, but it was often evoked in individual cases. Alternative measures to prison were allowed for in the new Criminal Code, which had been adopted in June 2025. Judges were equipped with armed vehicles and would have security details at their disposal for their personal safety. The police force was taking steps to bolster security in zones with a heightened level of insecurity and ensure that the referendum could take place. The Government was engaged in an intense campaign to fight the armed violence being perpetrated by gangs.

Follow-up Questions by Committee Experts

Committee Experts asked follow-up questions regarding identification papers, which more than 70 per cent of the population did not have, as well as the role of the Government Commissioners within the courts of justice.

A Committee Expert expressed hope that the programme being laid out by the State for elections would bring about the enjoyment of rights by the population. It seemed impossible to bring this about given the current insecurity in Haiti. Was the State in a position to achieve peace given the current context? The context in Haiti required international, shared responsibility, with involvement from all States parties.

Closing Statements

PEDRICA SAINT JEAN, Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights and head of the delegation , thanked the Committee for the kindness it had shown to the Haitian delegation, and the Experts for their insights. Haiti had taken due note of all recommendations and was determined to take further steps to develop effective, concrete responses to the Committee’s concerns relating to the implementation of the Covenant. One day, in the not-too-distant future, the country would exit the crisis. Everybody was working to see the day when Haiti could leave the crisis behind. Despite the efforts it had made, the Haitian State was aware that the implementation of the Covenant and progress in bolstering of the rule of law had not yet reached a satisfactory level. Haiti had a massive raft of problems to resolve, including travel restrictions, which had prevented some members of the delegation from traveling to Geneva. The State of Haiti was committed to doing its utmost to implement the provisions of the Covenant.

CHANGROK SOH, Committee Chairperson, expressed sincere gratitude to all who had contributed to the dialogue. The Committee acknowledged the profound political, economic and humanitarian challenges facing Haiti, which had hampered efforts to protect human rights. The Committee underscored the importance of continued diligence and commitment to the rights enshrined in the Covenant, especially in times of crisis. During the dialogue, the Committee had raised serious issues regarding the right to life, gang violence, lynchings, protection of vulnerable populations, corruption, protection of journalists and the need to combat impunity, among other concerns. Despite these challenges, the Committee appreciated the State party’s willingness to engage in dialogue. Haiti was encouraged to take this opportunity to advance necessary reforms to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Covenant were fully recognised for all Haitians.

___________

Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

CCPR25.015E

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI: Petrolympic Announces Option Grant

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Petrolympic Ltd. (TSX-V: PCQ) (OTC:PCQRF) (the “Company”), announces that a total of 2,100,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company have been granted to directors and officers of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 per share, expiring on July 4, 2030.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

For further information please contact:
Mendel Ekstein President
Tel. 845-656-0184
Fax 845-231-6665
82 Richmond St East Toronto, ON M5C 1P1

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information regarding the proposed acquisition, constitutes “forward-looking statements.” All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, geological and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to: economic and global market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in market prices, exploration and exploitation successes, continued availability of capital and financing, changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations, expropriation or nationalization of property and general political, economic, market or business conditions. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that forward- looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release, or incorporated by reference, are qualified by these cautionary statements. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

The MIL Network –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Time-Varying Impacts of Government Spending on CO2 Emissions

Source: International Monetary Fund

Summary

A Bayesian factor-augmented interacted vector autoregression framework purified of expectations is employed to analyze how government spending shocks have impacted CO2 emissions in the United States from the 1980s to the pre-pandemic period. Consumption-generated emissions are found to have generally risen following fiscal expansions, although their elasticity to government spending has declined substantially over time—with the five-year elasticity dropping from about 0.5 in the early 1980s to 0.1 by 2019. In contrast, positive government spending shocks increased production-generated emissions in the early 1980s—with a five-year elasticity near 0.4—but reversed course by the 1990s, eventually reaching an elasticity of –0.5 by the end of the sample. Examination of time-varying interaction variables suggests that environmental regulation, tertiarization, and a larger share of spending on public goods can mitigate—or even reverse—the emissions growth associated with economic expansions driven by government spending. Furthermore, government consumption, rather than investment, is chiefly responsible for these shifts in emissions elasticities.

MIL OSI Economics –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Morocco, Ecuador Reiterate Willingness to Further Bolster Bilateral Ties

Source: APO

.

The Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Ecuador reiterated on Friday in Rabat their mutual willingness to further strengthen the development of their bilateral relations.

Following the meeting held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, and the Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Mrs. Gabriela Sommerfeld, both parties underscored the outstanding bilateral ties of friendship and solidarity, and agreed on the importance of sustaining these exchanges and regularly reviewing them to further strengthen cooperation.

The ministers stressed that International Law is fundamentally based on mutual respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of States, as well as on fulfilling obligations under treaties and other sources of international law.

Bourita and Sommerfeld said they were pleased with the convergence of their views on regional and international issues and reiterated their commitment to working for global peace and security.

They agreed to pool efforts to address global challenges within various international and multilateral bodies, such as climate change, gender issues, human rights, the blue and green agendas, food security, health, pandemic prevention and response, and combating insecurity and corruption.

The two sides also tackled the significance of implementing the SDGs in an integrated and holistic manner to eradicate poverty and fight climate change while promoting sustainable land use and water management.

During their meeting, the two ministers also exchanged views on regional and international issues, including the situations in Africa and Latin America, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

They reaffirmed the importance of people-to-people exchanges in strengthening mutual understanding, friendship, and cooperation in communication, culture, education, sports, arts, youth, civil society, and the economy.

They also expressed their strong commitment to boosting investments through fluid commercial information exchange, promoting strategic alliances with the private sector, and actively supporting initiatives that facilitate and expand bilateral trade, in order to multiply business opportunities and explore the potential for diversified trade and investment between the two countries.

The two parties explored collaborative prospects within various Atlantic cooperation initiatives. They also voiced their aspiration to make this space a geostrategic framework for dialogue, aimed at promoting development and ensuring security and solidarity, as well as bringing together the peoples of the Global South and North.

Regarding migration, Morocco and Ecuador commended the efforts made in the area, especially within the framework of the Marrakesh Pact, the Rabat Process, and the Los Angeles Declaration, and reaffirmed their shared commitment to dynamic mobility that enables a safe, smooth, and orderly movement of people.

The two officials also expressed their shared will to further strengthen the bilateral legal framework to address common areas of interest in cooperation.

To this end, the ministers welcomed the signing of two legal instruments: a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic training and exchange of experiences between Morocco’s Institute of Training, Research, and Diplomatic Studies (IMFRED) and the “Galo Plaza Lasso” Diplomatic Academy of the Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs Ministry; and a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a mechanism for bilateral political consultations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

MIL OSI Africa –

July 5, 2025
Parliamentarians in Trinidad & Tobago hail PM Modi’s speech

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Frdiay at the Parliament of Trinidad & Tobago was met with resounding applause from the Members of Parliament. During his address to the Joint Assembly at the iconic Red House, PM Modi expressed gratitude and said he felt humbled to be the first Indian Prime Minister to address the esteemed House.

Addressing Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, President of the Senate Wade Mark, Speaker of the House Jagdeo Singh, and other parliamentarians, PM Modi highlighted the warm and historic ties between India and Trinidad & Tobago. His speech was interrupted more than 20 times by warm applause from the MPs.

PM Modi said he was deeply honoured to stand before the elected representatives of a proud democracy and a friendly nation. He extended greetings on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians and conveyed warm wishes from the people of Ghana, the country he visited prior to arriving in the Caribbean nation.

“This historic Red House has witnessed the struggles and sacrifices of the people of Trinidad and Tobago for freedom and dignity. Over the past six decades, it has stood strong as you’ve built a just, inclusive, and prosperous democracy,” PM Modi said.

He praised the leadership of President Kangaloo and Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, both of Indian descent, calling them “living symbols of the relationship between our countries, built on shared roots and shared dreams.”

PM Modi reflected on the journey of both nations from colonial rule to thriving democracies: “With courage as our ink and democracy as our pen, we have written our own stories.”

The Prime Minister congratulated the people of Trinidad & Tobago for recently participating in democratic elections and lauded the wisdom and vision of the electorate. He extended best wishes to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar on securing a second consecutive term.

Referring to the words inscribed on the Speaker’s Chair—”FROM THE PEOPLE OF INDIA TO THE PEOPLE OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO”—PM Modi said the chair was “not just a piece of furniture but a powerful symbol of friendship and trust between our two nations.”

“In India, democracy is not just a political system but a way of life,” he added.

The PM also pointed out that some members of the T&T Parliament trace their ancestry to Bihar, an Indian state known for ancient democratic roots such as Vaishali.

“There is a natural warmth in our connection. Indians are among the most passionate fans of the West Indies cricket team—except, of course, when they play against India!” he joked.

PM Modi recalled the arrival of Indians to Trinidad 180 years ago and how their culture blended with the Caribbean rhythm: “Here, Bhojpuri found harmony with Creole, dal puri met doubles, and tabla met the steel pan.”

Today, people of Indian origin are an integral part of the vibrant diversity of Trinidad & Tobago, he said, contributing to every field—from politics to poetry, cricket to commerce, and calypso to chutney.

Earlier in the day, President Christine Kangaloo conferred PM Modi with the nation’s highest civilian honour, which he accepted with humility on behalf of the Indian people.

Expressing appreciation, PM Modi said: “I am delighted to see so many women Members in this House. Respect for women is deeply rooted in Indian culture.” Quoting a verse from the *Skanda Purana*, he emphasized the value of daughters, adding, “One daughter brings as much joy as ten sons.”

The Prime Minister highlighted India’s push toward gender equality, mentioning the recent 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies. “Around 1.5 million elected women lead local governance institutions. We are in an era of women-led development,” he said.

On economic development, PM Modi noted: “India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world today. Our growth is inclusive and people-centric.” He cited an International Labour Organization report that noted India’s welfare programs cover 950 million people.

He added that India views its development as a responsibility toward others, with a special focus on the Global South.

On bilateral ties, he said India would deepen cooperation with Trinidad & Tobago in trade, development, healthcare, and technology. He welcomed T&T’s adoption of the UPI digital payment system, noting that even mango sellers in India now prefer UPI over cash.

India is also ready to share its expertise in agriculture, food processing, and digital innovation, he added. “Development is about dignity,” he said, announcing an artificial limb fitment camp for differently-abled citizens in Trinidad & Tobago.

“As a key player in the Caribbean and a bridge to Latin America, Trinidad & Tobago has great potential. We look forward to stronger regional cooperation through India-CARICOM ties.”

Speaking on global issues, PM Modi acknowledged the challenges facing the world: climate change, terrorism, food and energy insecurity, and cyber threats. He emphasized the need for reforms in global institutions and more equitable representation for the Global South.

“The voice of the developing world remains on the margins. India has always tried to bridge this gap,” he said. “We need to give the Global South its rightful seat at the right table and ensure climate justice, so that the burden doesn’t fall on those who contributed the least.”

The PM said India’s vision for the Global South is encapsulated in the acronym *MAHASAGAR* — Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

Highlighting cooperation during the pandemic, PM Modi reminded the House that India sent vaccines and medicines to over 150 countries and provided humanitarian aid during global disasters.

He reaffirmed India’s respect for T&T’s support in the fight against terrorism: “Terrorism is the enemy of humanity. This very Red House has itself witnessed the wounds of terror. We must stand united to deny terrorism any shelter or space.”

PM Modi added, “From Ayodhya to Arima, from the ghats of the Ganga to the Gulf of Paria, may our bonds grow ever deeper, and our dreams ever higher.”

He thanked the Parliament of Trinidad & Tobago for bestowing him with the honour to address them.

IANS

July 5, 2025
Parliamentarians in Trinidad & Tobago hail PM Modi’s speech

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Frdiay at the Parliament of Trinidad & Tobago was met with resounding applause from the Members of Parliament. During his address to the Joint Assembly at the iconic Red House, PM Modi expressed gratitude and said he felt humbled to be the first Indian Prime Minister to address the esteemed House.

Addressing Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, President of the Senate Wade Mark, Speaker of the House Jagdeo Singh, and other parliamentarians, PM Modi highlighted the warm and historic ties between India and Trinidad & Tobago. His speech was interrupted more than 20 times by warm applause from the MPs.

PM Modi said he was deeply honoured to stand before the elected representatives of a proud democracy and a friendly nation. He extended greetings on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians and conveyed warm wishes from the people of Ghana, the country he visited prior to arriving in the Caribbean nation.

“This historic Red House has witnessed the struggles and sacrifices of the people of Trinidad and Tobago for freedom and dignity. Over the past six decades, it has stood strong as you’ve built a just, inclusive, and prosperous democracy,” PM Modi said.

He praised the leadership of President Kangaloo and Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, both of Indian descent, calling them “living symbols of the relationship between our countries, built on shared roots and shared dreams.”

PM Modi reflected on the journey of both nations from colonial rule to thriving democracies: “With courage as our ink and democracy as our pen, we have written our own stories.”

The Prime Minister congratulated the people of Trinidad & Tobago for recently participating in democratic elections and lauded the wisdom and vision of the electorate. He extended best wishes to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar on securing a second consecutive term.

Referring to the words inscribed on the Speaker’s Chair—”FROM THE PEOPLE OF INDIA TO THE PEOPLE OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO”—PM Modi said the chair was “not just a piece of furniture but a powerful symbol of friendship and trust between our two nations.”

“In India, democracy is not just a political system but a way of life,” he added.

The PM also pointed out that some members of the T&T Parliament trace their ancestry to Bihar, an Indian state known for ancient democratic roots such as Vaishali.

“There is a natural warmth in our connection. Indians are among the most passionate fans of the West Indies cricket team—except, of course, when they play against India!” he joked.

PM Modi recalled the arrival of Indians to Trinidad 180 years ago and how their culture blended with the Caribbean rhythm: “Here, Bhojpuri found harmony with Creole, dal puri met doubles, and tabla met the steel pan.”

Today, people of Indian origin are an integral part of the vibrant diversity of Trinidad & Tobago, he said, contributing to every field—from politics to poetry, cricket to commerce, and calypso to chutney.

Earlier in the day, President Christine Kangaloo conferred PM Modi with the nation’s highest civilian honour, which he accepted with humility on behalf of the Indian people.

Expressing appreciation, PM Modi said: “I am delighted to see so many women Members in this House. Respect for women is deeply rooted in Indian culture.” Quoting a verse from the *Skanda Purana*, he emphasized the value of daughters, adding, “One daughter brings as much joy as ten sons.”

The Prime Minister highlighted India’s push toward gender equality, mentioning the recent 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies. “Around 1.5 million elected women lead local governance institutions. We are in an era of women-led development,” he said.

On economic development, PM Modi noted: “India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world today. Our growth is inclusive and people-centric.” He cited an International Labour Organization report that noted India’s welfare programs cover 950 million people.

He added that India views its development as a responsibility toward others, with a special focus on the Global South.

On bilateral ties, he said India would deepen cooperation with Trinidad & Tobago in trade, development, healthcare, and technology. He welcomed T&T’s adoption of the UPI digital payment system, noting that even mango sellers in India now prefer UPI over cash.

India is also ready to share its expertise in agriculture, food processing, and digital innovation, he added. “Development is about dignity,” he said, announcing an artificial limb fitment camp for differently-abled citizens in Trinidad & Tobago.

“As a key player in the Caribbean and a bridge to Latin America, Trinidad & Tobago has great potential. We look forward to stronger regional cooperation through India-CARICOM ties.”

Speaking on global issues, PM Modi acknowledged the challenges facing the world: climate change, terrorism, food and energy insecurity, and cyber threats. He emphasized the need for reforms in global institutions and more equitable representation for the Global South.

“The voice of the developing world remains on the margins. India has always tried to bridge this gap,” he said. “We need to give the Global South its rightful seat at the right table and ensure climate justice, so that the burden doesn’t fall on those who contributed the least.”

The PM said India’s vision for the Global South is encapsulated in the acronym *MAHASAGAR* — Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

Highlighting cooperation during the pandemic, PM Modi reminded the House that India sent vaccines and medicines to over 150 countries and provided humanitarian aid during global disasters.

He reaffirmed India’s respect for T&T’s support in the fight against terrorism: “Terrorism is the enemy of humanity. This very Red House has itself witnessed the wounds of terror. We must stand united to deny terrorism any shelter or space.”

PM Modi added, “From Ayodhya to Arima, from the ghats of the Ganga to the Gulf of Paria, may our bonds grow ever deeper, and our dreams ever higher.”

He thanked the Parliament of Trinidad & Tobago for bestowing him with the honour to address them.

IANS

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Estonia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play – 04-07-2025

Source: European Parliament

Estonia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) – one of the last NRRPs submitted to the European Commission – sets out the reforms and public investment projects Estonia intends to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The RRF is one of the main components of Next Generation EU, an EU instrument to counter the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Estonia’s plan is one of the smallest in the EU in terms of the total amount allocated. However, when taking into account its number of inhabitants, the country is a medium-sized beneficiary. Initially, Estonia requested €982.5 million in grants but in the modified version, submitted to the European Commission in March 2023, Estonia reduced this amount to €953.3 million (-1.7 % compared with the original plan). The modified plan takes into account the updated maximum financial contribution published on 30 June 2022 (€863.5 million, down from €969.3 million) which reflects changes in real gross domestic product (GDP) over time. Furthermore, it includes a REPowerEU chapter to reinforce the plan’s energy dimension. Estonia’s modified plan represents 0.1 % of the entire RRF, equal to 3.4 % of the country’s GDP in 2019 (the RRF being 5.2 % of EU-27 GDP in 2019). Estonia did not request any RRF loans. The Council approved Estonia’s initial plan on 25 October 2021 and the modified plan on 16 June 2023. The European Commission disbursed €126 million (13.2 % of the resources of the revised plan) in pre-financing on 17 December 2021, the first payment of €239 million on 6 November 2023, REPowerEU chapter pre-financing of 18 million on 14 December 2023, the second payment of €122 million on 18 April 2024, and the third payment of €122 million on 18 March 2025. In total, Estonia has so far received €627 million (65.8 % of the resources). The European Parliament, which was a great supporter of the creation of a common EU recovery instrument, participates in interinstitutional cooperation and discussions on its implementation, and scrutinises the European Commission’s work. This briefing is one in a series covering all EU Member States. Third edition. The ‘Monitoring EU recovery’ briefings are updated at key stages throughout the lifecycle of the plans.

MIL OSI Europe News –

July 5, 2025
Glad to bestow our highest honour: Trinidad & Tobago President praises PM Modi’s longstanding support

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Trinidad and Tobago President Christine Kangaloo on Friday showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while conferring the nation’s highest honour upon him.

She lauded PM Modi for his longstanding contributions, kindness, and unwavering support to the country and the wider Caribbean region.

“Your kindness and generosity to the people of Trinidad and Tobago are legendary. They have been demonstrated time and again,” she noted, recalling several acts of bilateral goodwill.

“Trinidad and Tobago is immensely glad to have been able to bestow upon you our nation’s highest honour in recognition of the tremendous work you have done with our nation over the years and for the kindness and generosity you have always shown to our country and indeed our region,” President Kangaloo said during the ceremony at the President’s House in Port of Spain.

Prime Minister Modi was conferred with ‘The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT)’ on Friday, the highest civilian award of the nation, becoming the first foreign leader ever to receive the honour. This marks the 25th international award conferred on PM Modi by a foreign country.

Praising the Indian Prime Minister’s continued support and goodwill, President Kangaloo emphasized that his efforts have become “legendary” among the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

She particularly highlighted India’s assistance during the COVID-19 crisis, underscoring a key example of personal intervention by PM Modi.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, 40,000 doses of vaccines arrived in Trinidad as a result of your personal intervention and action. That act of kindness only further strengthened the longstanding relationship between our two countries,” she added.

PM Modi began his first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time) with a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Piarco International Airport, where he was received by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, along with 38 ministers and four Members of Parliament of the Caribbean nation.

The Prime Minister shared a video of the warm welcome on the social media platform X, writing: *”May the friendship between India and Trinidad & Tobago flourish in the times to come! Highlights from a special welcome in Port of Spain.”* The footage showed cultural performances, traditional music, and a vibrant welcome from the local Indian diaspora.

PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian community who had gathered at the airport, expressing his gratitude for their heartfelt reception.

His visit to Trinidad and Tobago is the second leg of a five-nation tour from July 2 to July 9, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas such as digital finance, renewable energy, healthcare, and information technology.

This visit marks the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999 and PM Modi’s first visit to the country in his current role.

Following his engagements in Trinidad and Tobago, PM Modi is scheduled to travel to Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. He will attend the 17th BRICS Summit 2025 in Brazil from July 5 to July 8, before concluding his tour with a state visit to Namibia.

(ANI)

July 5, 2025
Glad to bestow our highest honour: Trinidad & Tobago President praises PM Modi’s longstanding support

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Trinidad and Tobago President Christine Kangaloo on Friday showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while conferring the nation’s highest honour upon him.

She lauded PM Modi for his longstanding contributions, kindness, and unwavering support to the country and the wider Caribbean region.

“Your kindness and generosity to the people of Trinidad and Tobago are legendary. They have been demonstrated time and again,” she noted, recalling several acts of bilateral goodwill.

“Trinidad and Tobago is immensely glad to have been able to bestow upon you our nation’s highest honour in recognition of the tremendous work you have done with our nation over the years and for the kindness and generosity you have always shown to our country and indeed our region,” President Kangaloo said during the ceremony at the President’s House in Port of Spain.

Prime Minister Modi was conferred with ‘The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT)’ on Friday, the highest civilian award of the nation, becoming the first foreign leader ever to receive the honour. This marks the 25th international award conferred on PM Modi by a foreign country.

Praising the Indian Prime Minister’s continued support and goodwill, President Kangaloo emphasized that his efforts have become “legendary” among the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

She particularly highlighted India’s assistance during the COVID-19 crisis, underscoring a key example of personal intervention by PM Modi.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, 40,000 doses of vaccines arrived in Trinidad as a result of your personal intervention and action. That act of kindness only further strengthened the longstanding relationship between our two countries,” she added.

PM Modi began his first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time) with a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Piarco International Airport, where he was received by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, along with 38 ministers and four Members of Parliament of the Caribbean nation.

The Prime Minister shared a video of the warm welcome on the social media platform X, writing: *”May the friendship between India and Trinidad & Tobago flourish in the times to come! Highlights from a special welcome in Port of Spain.”* The footage showed cultural performances, traditional music, and a vibrant welcome from the local Indian diaspora.

PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian community who had gathered at the airport, expressing his gratitude for their heartfelt reception.

His visit to Trinidad and Tobago is the second leg of a five-nation tour from July 2 to July 9, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas such as digital finance, renewable energy, healthcare, and information technology.

This visit marks the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999 and PM Modi’s first visit to the country in his current role.

Following his engagements in Trinidad and Tobago, PM Modi is scheduled to travel to Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. He will attend the 17th BRICS Summit 2025 in Brazil from July 5 to July 8, before concluding his tour with a state visit to Namibia.

(ANI)

July 5, 2025
Glad to bestow our highest honour: Trinidad & Tobago President praises PM Modi’s longstanding support

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Trinidad and Tobago President Christine Kangaloo on Friday showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while conferring the nation’s highest honour upon him.

She lauded PM Modi for his longstanding contributions, kindness, and unwavering support to the country and the wider Caribbean region.

“Your kindness and generosity to the people of Trinidad and Tobago are legendary. They have been demonstrated time and again,” she noted, recalling several acts of bilateral goodwill.

“Trinidad and Tobago is immensely glad to have been able to bestow upon you our nation’s highest honour in recognition of the tremendous work you have done with our nation over the years and for the kindness and generosity you have always shown to our country and indeed our region,” President Kangaloo said during the ceremony at the President’s House in Port of Spain.

Prime Minister Modi was conferred with ‘The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT)’ on Friday, the highest civilian award of the nation, becoming the first foreign leader ever to receive the honour. This marks the 25th international award conferred on PM Modi by a foreign country.

Praising the Indian Prime Minister’s continued support and goodwill, President Kangaloo emphasized that his efforts have become “legendary” among the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

She particularly highlighted India’s assistance during the COVID-19 crisis, underscoring a key example of personal intervention by PM Modi.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, 40,000 doses of vaccines arrived in Trinidad as a result of your personal intervention and action. That act of kindness only further strengthened the longstanding relationship between our two countries,” she added.

PM Modi began his first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time) with a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Piarco International Airport, where he was received by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, along with 38 ministers and four Members of Parliament of the Caribbean nation.

The Prime Minister shared a video of the warm welcome on the social media platform X, writing: *”May the friendship between India and Trinidad & Tobago flourish in the times to come! Highlights from a special welcome in Port of Spain.”* The footage showed cultural performances, traditional music, and a vibrant welcome from the local Indian diaspora.

PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian community who had gathered at the airport, expressing his gratitude for their heartfelt reception.

His visit to Trinidad and Tobago is the second leg of a five-nation tour from July 2 to July 9, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas such as digital finance, renewable energy, healthcare, and information technology.

This visit marks the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999 and PM Modi’s first visit to the country in his current role.

Following his engagements in Trinidad and Tobago, PM Modi is scheduled to travel to Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. He will attend the 17th BRICS Summit 2025 in Brazil from July 5 to July 8, before concluding his tour with a state visit to Namibia.

(ANI)

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI: Subsea 7 – awarded contract offshore Egypt
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Luxembourg – 4 July 2025 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced the award of sizeable¹ contract offshore Egypt.

 Subsea7 will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, commissioning and installation of flexible pipelines, umbilicals, and associated subsea components for a tie back to existing infrastructures. 

Project management and engineering work will begin immediately at Subsea7’s offices in France, Portugal, and Egypt. Offshore activity is expected to start in 2026.

David Bertin, Subsea7’s Senior Vice President GPC East, said: “Our early engagement has been instrumental in shaping a shared vision and delivering innovative, efficient solutions. This award is a testament to the strength of our collaboration, our proven track record, and our commitment to safe, high-quality execution. We are pleased to be able to support our client in enabling and executing such a strategically important project in Egypt.”

(1) Subsea7 defines a sizeable contract as being between $50 million and $150 million

*******************************************************************************
Subsea7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industry’s partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs.

Subsea7 is listed on the Oslo Børs (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62.

*******************************************************************************

Contact for investment community enquiries:
Katherine Tonks
Investor Relations Director
Tel +44 20 8210 5568
ir@subsea7.com

Contact for media enquiries:
Hariom Cavalcante
Communications Manager
Tel +33 59 69 01 02
Hariom.Cavalcante@subsea7.com

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This stock exchange release was published by Katherine Tonks, Investor Relations, Subsea7, on 4 July 2025 at 18:10 CET.

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The MIL Network –
July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Guinea: Community comes together to reduce disease and disaster risks

Source: APO

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In the village of Dalafilani, Guinea, discover how the Guinean Red Cross supported the community to come together, building a network of canals to reduce the risks of flooding and infectious diseases.

For as long as they can remember, the people of Dalafilani—a small, rural village of 2,000 people in central Guinea—have faced a recurring and significant problem: flooding.

Every time heavy rains came, water coursed through the village, damaging homes and leaving large pools of polluted, stagnant water—the perfect breeding ground for waterborne and mosquito-borne diseases.

Not only did the floods jeopardise people’s homes and health, they also caused economic pressures. Villagers used to have to frequently buy medicine to treat relatives who fell sick from flood-related diseases, diverting precious income from other daily needs.

So when local Guinean Red Cross volunteers rallied the community together to discuss potential solutions, the community decided it would do whatever it takes to keep the floods—and diseases—at bay.

A community diagnosis at the heart of change

Through the Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Programme (CP3), trained Guinean Red Cross volunteers led the community through a participatory risk assessment to understand the problem, discuss the community’s needs and resources, and come up with a workable solution.

“As members of this community, we worked together to identify the priority problems. During a community diagnosis, the residents recognized that flooding and wastewater were a major source of disease, and that their environment had a direct impact on their health, safety and livelihoods,” explains Guinean Red Cross volunteer, Sekou Oularé.

“Together, we came up with the idea of constructing a system of canals through the village to evacuate flood and wastewater. The Red Cross facilitated this process, providing tools and logistical support,” he adds.

Taking collective action

With a plan of action agreed, villagers in Dalafilani quickly got to work turning their idea into reality.

“We decided to mobilize the whole community. Men and women worked hand in hand to build the canals. We made bricks, dug trenches and transported materials. This work has enabled us to create a functional drainage system that carries rainwater and domestic wastewater away from our village,” explains Fanta Bö Kourouma, president of the Dalafilani youth group.

Guinean Red Cross volunteers were on hand throughout the process—helping to build the canals, map out where they should run to most effectively carry water away from the village, and procure the necessary materials.

A healthier, safer community in the long-term

Following the construction of the canals, it didn’t take long for the community to see a positive change. The village is cleaner, there are no more pools of stagnant water following the rains, and families are relieved to see their children in better health.

“Before, we had problems with illness, especially among children. They used to play in the dirty water and it made them sick. It was a heavy burden on our finances because of the cost of medicines. Today, thanks to the drainage system, there are fewer mosquitoes and fewer children are getting sick,” says Gbè Traoré, a resident of Dalafilani.

Local health authorities have also reported a decrease in diseases, with head of the Dalafilani health post, Bernard Camara, recording significantly fewer medical consultations relating to malaria and water-borne diseases.

Guinea Red Cross volunteers continue to support people in Dalafilani, conducting regular community meetings to raise awareness of epidemic risks and reinforce cleanliness efforts.

Dalafilani village chief, Fodé Oularé, is relieved to see improvements to his community’s health, and understands they need to keep working together to keep disease risks at bay in the long-term.

“Before, rainwater was running off in all directions, creating puddles of stagnant water. Now, with the system we’ve built, the water is drained away and we have a cleaner environment. The Red Cross has been working with us to raise awareness and maintain this progress, but it’s up to us, the residents, to keep things clean to prevent disease,” he explains.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

MIL OSI Africa –

July 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Elizabeth Emblem Recognises Scottish Public Servants
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

News story

Elizabeth Emblem Recognises Scottish Public Servants

Eight Scottish public servants who died in service recognised in the second ever Elizabeth Emblem List.
Eight Scottish public servants who died in the line of duty have been recognised with the Elizabeth Emblem.

The Elizabeth Emblem is a mark of recognition to the next of kin of public servants who have lost their lives as a result of their duty. It is the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which recognises members of the UK Armed Forces who died in action or as a result of a terrorist attack.

106 public servants who died in service from across the United Kingdom are being recognised in this second published List.

Those recognised from Scotland include Gwen Mayor, a teacher who was killed by a gunman at Dunblane Primary School in March 1996, and Rodney Moore, a retired paramedic who rejoined the Scottish Ambulance Service to support its Covid-19 response and later died of the illness.

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray said:

“I pay tribute to all of those Scots who have been recognised today. Every one of these brave public servants gave their life to protect others. They are people who stepped forward when most of us would step back, and they paid the ultimate price.

“I am particularly pleased that Dunblane teacher Gwen Mayor has been recognised. No-one will ever forget the horror of the shooting at Dunblane Primary School in 1996, when Mrs Mayor was killed trying to protect her pupils.

“I hope that the families of all those recognised will take some comfort in knowing that their loved ones, and their service, has not been forgotten.”

The full list of Scottish public servants recognised are:

Gwen Mayor, a teacher at Dunblane Primary School. Mrs Mayor was killed alongside 16 of her pupils on 13 March 1996.

Roderick Nicolson, Tayside Fire and Rescue Service. Mr Nicolson, from Perth, died attempting to rescue two workmen from a silo of chemical dust at Perth Harbour. Whilst trying to free the workers Fireman Nicolson became trapped amid five tonnes of sodium carbonate ash. He died on 4 December 1995.

Ewan Williamson, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. Firefighter Williamson was responding to a fire at the Balmoral Bar public house on Dalry Road in Edinburgh when he became trapped in the basement level with the fire. He was unable to escape and fellow firefighters were unable to locate him for a significant period of time. Firefighter Williamson died on 12 July 2009.

Richard Paul North, Tayside Police. Constable North was killed when on duty as a result of a collision with another vehicle, while driving near Perth in a marked police car. The other vehicle had crossed from the other carriageway into the oncoming traffic, and the driver was found to be under the influence of drink and drugs. PC North died on 17 March 1987.

William Oliver, of the Glasgow Salvage Corps. Mr Oliver died in the Cheapside Street Disaster, a fire in a whisky bond. The warehouse contained more than a million gallons of whisky and 30,000 gallons of rum. As the temperature of the fire increased, some of the casks ruptured, causing a huge boiling liquid vapour explosion. This instantly killed Mr Oliver and 18 others. Mr Oliver died on 28 March 1960.

Joseph Stewart Drake, Stirling and Clackmannan Constabulary. Constable Drake was killed when a stolen lorry being pursued by other officers intentionally struck his car as he tried to intercept it at Dennyloanhead near Falkirk. PC Drake died on 11 August 1967.

Rodney (Rod) Moore, of the Scottish Ambulance Service. A retired ambulance paramedic of 40 years’ service, Mr Moore, from Falkirk, returned to work with the Scottish Ambulance Service to assist with the Covid-19 pandemic response. Mr Moore contracted Covid-19 in October 2020 and died on 21 November 2020.

Alistair Soutar, HM Customs & Excise. Mr Soutar was crushed between a HM Customs and Excise vessel ‘The Sentinel’ and a smugglers’ vessel the ‘Ocean Jubilee’. Mr Souter, from Dundee, was taking part in Operation Balvenie off the Caithness coast to apprehend drug smugglers. Mr Soutar was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but died of his injuries on 29 July 1996.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden said:

“We owe an enduring debt to the public servants who give their lives to protect others.

“The Elizabeth Emblem is a reminder not just of the ultimate price their loved ones have paid in service of our communities, it is a lasting symbol of our national gratitude for their incredible sacrifice.”

The Elizabeth Emblem was established last year as a national form of recognition.

The design of the Emblem incorporates a rosemary wreath, a traditional symbol of remembrance, which surrounds the Tudor Crown. It is inscribed with ‘For A Life Given In Service’, and will have the name of the person for whom it is in memoriam inscribed on the reverse of the Emblem. It will include a pin to allow the award to be worn on clothing by the next of kin of the deceased.

Families and next of kin of those who have died in public service are encouraged to apply for an Elizabeth Emblem via gov.uk.

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Updates to this page

Published 4 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 5, 2025