coronavirus pandemic
Japan funds UN Women progs to address challenges of women, girls during COVID-19
The government of Japan has contributed US$4,545,454 to UN Women programmes to protect the lives and dignity of women and girls, as well as address the challenges they face by COVID -19.
With generous support from the Government of Japan, UN Women will implement its programmes aimed at supporting women and girls facing challenges in the midst of COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific, Arab States, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Europe and Central Asia.
Women are disproportionately affected by the impact of COVID-19, as more women work in low-paying, insecure and informal jobs, while carrying the bulk of burden on unpaid care work at home, said the UN Women.
As more countries report infections and lockdown measures, domestic violence helplines and shelters across the world are increasingly reporting calls for help.
Confinement at home is fostering the tension and strain created by security, health and money worries.
In addition, this increased isolation for women with violent partners creates a perfect storm for controlling and violent behavior to happen behind closed doors.
“The Government of Japan, which is committed to creating ‘a society in which all women shine,’ has been an important long-standing partner for UN Women,” said Kae Ishikawa, Director of UN Women Japan Liaison Office.
“The Government of Japan has contributed to a number of UN Women programmes and activities around the world to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.”
“The concept of ‘human security,’ which Japan promotes as one of the critical pillars of its foreign policy, is perfectly in line with the objectives of the UN Women programmes, which aim to protect women and girls affected by the impact of COVID-19 as well as build a resilient society where women play a critical role in decision-making,” Ishikawa said.
“UN Women would also like to acknowledge and thank Japan for being the first donor to announce its financial contribution to UN Women’s initiatives on COVID-19.”
Japan has been a key partner of UN Women since its establishment.
The partnership between UN Women and Japan covers many areas, such as programme implementations in developing countries, conducting policy dialogues, and collaboration around key international conferences on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
UN Women and Japan will continue to strengthen their partnership to generate change in the lives of women and their communities.
Programme overview
Previous experiences show that disease outbreaks and subsequent crises affect women and men differently.
Thus, it is critical to have a gender-responsive approach in creating effective and equitable preventative plans and long-term response interventions for COVID-19, said the UN Women.
In this context, with generous support from the Government of Japan, UN Women will implement prevention and response programmes to COVID-19 in 4 regions, with particular focus on following thematic areas:
Development of research or knowledge products on gender and COVID-19, and provision of technical support on gender analysis.
Evidence-based advocacy and campaigning to inform prevention, mitigation and response policies and plans.
Promotion of protection mechanisms throughout the COVID-19 response, with a focus on access to gender-based violence (GBV) and other relevant services.
Promotion of women’s access to emergency support through cash transfers and livelihood opportunities.
Promotion of leadership roles and participation of women in the response and recovery of COVID-19.
Planned duration of the programmes: from June 2020 to May 2021
Programme budget: Grand total US$4,545,454 (US$1,818,181 for Asia and the Pacific region, US$909,091 for Arab States region, US$909,091 for Eastern and Southern Africa region and US$909,091 for Europe and Central Asia region)
Coronavirus: Global death toll reaches 389,645
The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed over 389,645 lives globally while the number confirmed coronavirus cases has gone up to 6,601,349 as of Friday morning, according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of the Johns Hopkins University.
According to JHU data, Brazil has 584,016 confirmed coronavirus cases, the second highest in the world after the USA. The South American country lost 32,548 lives to Covid-19 till date.
The US has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths. It recorded 108,208 deaths and 1,872,557 cases so far. In the US, New York State alone counted 30,174 deaths till date.
Political divisions giving life to coronavirus: Quader
Pointing his finger at political parties including the BNP, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader urged them not to make criticism of the government part of their routine work.
Mobile court fines Tk 36,100 to 39 people for not using mask in Bagerhat
A mobile court fined 39 people Tk 36,100 for not using mask in different parts of the district.
The mobile court led by Additional District Magistrate Mohammad Shahinuzzaman, said the drive was conducted from Wednesday morning till night in different parts of the district including in the public transports.
The drive was conducted to curb coronavirus transmission and it will continue, he said.
Earlier, a mobile court fined Tk 34,300 to 24 people for violating the health guidelines.
The government has asked all to abide by the health guidelines to prevent spread of the deadly virus.
Bangladesh confirmed its first cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18 but it has been seeing a sharp rise in both new cases and deaths in recent weeks.
The country on Wednesday recorded another spike in coronavirus cases when the health authorities announced detection of 2,695 new patients in the last 24 hours.
During this period, 37 patients died of Covid-19, raising the death toll to 746.
Among the total infection, 11,590 people have so far recovered.
COVID-19: Bangladesh's global partners urged to practice responsible business conduct
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima has urged Bangladesh's trading partners to practice responsible business conduct during this crisis of COVID-19.
"It is no time for economic or trade protectionism. LDCs should be given their previously committed market access,” she said.
The Ambassador highlighted the challenges of the disrupted global supply chain and its devastating impacts on export in countries like Bangladesh where factory workers are losing jobs in large scale.
She was addressing a virtual meeting on “SDG Financing in the era of COVID 19 and beyond” in New York on Wednesday.
Mentioning the pandemic as a global health as well as an economic and social crisis, the PR told participants that the consequences would be borne by the peoples and economies of the vulnerable countries for years to come and the SDG implementation plans in many of countries are on hold as they are diverting their limited resources to meet emergency health needs as well as to expand social protection system.
Referring to the fall in remittances and the challenge of managing the return of migrant workers for countries like Bangladesh, the PR stated that migrants face health, socio-economic and protection crisis.
She called upon the migrant destination countries to ensure the rights of migrants and to keep them in their respective response and recovery plans.
The PR informed the meeting that the Bangladesh Government has announced a 12.1 billion dollar stimulus package, which is 3.7% of its GDP, for various sectors of its economy as well as support measures for different groups.
She underscored the need for a stronger global solidarity and cooperation to overcome this unprecedented crisis and said that “equitable access to finance will also be a vital step to ensure resilient and sustainable recovery from COVID 19. Private creditors as well as the idle private capital should be incentivized for investment in the vulnerable developing countries.”
The PR also called for more vigorous efforts to finance climate actions, which will support the vulnerable countries in building better resilience against any future disaster.
COVID-19 pandemic: Global death toll reaches 385, 873
The number confirmed coronavirus cases across the world has gone up to 6,429,453 while the death toll reached 385,873 on Thursday morning, according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of the Johns Hopkins University.
According to JHU data, Brazil has 584,016 confirmed coronavirus cases, the second highest in the world after the USA. The South American country lost 32,548 lives to Covid-19 till date.
The US has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths. It recorded 107,148 deaths and 1,851,530 cases so far. In the US, New York State alone counted 30,019 deaths till date.
The UK has the second-highest death toll at 39, 811, followed by Italy with 33,601, France 29,024 and Spain 27,128, according to Johns Hopkins University.
People want ‘pro poor’ budget
People who have been hit hard by the recent shutdown aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak, have urged the government to announce a pro-poor national budget that saves both the lives and livelihoods of the people.
5 die in Chandpur hospital isolation ward in 24hr
Five people, including a woman and a village doctor, died at the isolation unit of Chandpur General Hospital in last 24 hours since Tuesday night.
Resident medical officer Doctor Sujauddowla Rubel and on-duty doctor Mizanur Rahman said that village doctor Abu Taher Bhuiyan, 66, a resident of Paschim Bagdi village died around 12:30am, Abdur Razzak, 70, resident of Kalyandi village of Sadar upazila died around 2am while Lucky Begum of the same village died on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, Mojibur Rahman, 70, resident of Bolia village of Hajiganj upazila died around 8:30pm on Tuesday and Jahangir Alam, 60, of the same village around 8:30am today.
All of them were suffering from fever and cold related issues.
Their samples have been collected for coronavirus test.
Coronavirus: First Rohingya man's death reported in Bangladesh camp
A Rohingya man died from coronavirus while undergoing treatment at the isolation centre at Ukhiya camp in Cox’s Bazar on Monday night.
Trader dies from Covid-19 in Naogaon
A trader of Kaporpotti area in Sadar upazila town in Naogaon district died from Covird-19 on Monday night.
The deceased was identified as Nurul Islam Nuru, 58, of the area.
Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdulah Al Mamun said cloth trader Nuru breathed his last at around 11:30pm.
Nuru was first diagnosed with coronavirus on May 30 and he way staying in home quarantine, the UNO said.
A total of 132 people have been infected with coronavirus while two people have so far died in the district.
Bangladesh has so far reported 49,534 coronavirus cases and 672 deaths. Among the total infection, 9,781 people have so far recovered.
Bangladesh announced general holiday from March 26 to May 30. Public transport movement and government and privates offices resumed on May 31 as the government decided not to extend holidays anymore.
However, the educational institutions will remain closed until June 15.