Category: Politics

UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto, paid a courtesy visit to Secretary General of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR Pingkham Lasasimma to discuss how UNICEF can further engage with the National Assembly to further advance the rights and well-being of children and women in the Lao PDR.

The meeting is especially notable as it was organised during the commencement year of the UNICEF-Government of the Lao PDR Country Programme 2022-2026, which provides a framework of cooperation between the two parties for the next five years.

During the meeting, Dr. Rebello Britto expressed appreciation on the successful completion of the 3th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly (Ninth Legislature). They then discussed UNICEF’s support and contribution to the social development agendas, including the COVID 19 responses, education, health and nutrition. Furthermore, both parties discussed how data and evidence generated through the support from UNICEF could further strengthen the National Assembly’s capacity to monitor and oversee the legislative and policy implementation and track the progress of the 9th NSEDP.

The two female leaders further exchanged information on the situation of Lao children and explored areas where the National Assembly and UNICEF could partner together to deliver solutions.

Ms.Lasasimma also thanked UNICEF for supporting the National Assembly’s technological infrastructure by providing laptops and equipment for Social Cultural Affairs Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Planning, Finance and Audit Committee and the Justice Committee of the National Assembly.

“I would like to express my thanks to UNICEF for its continued support to the National Assembly and commitment to promoting the well-being of children and women of our country. The National Assembly looks forward to strengthening our cooperation and partnership with UNICEF in the years to come,” said Ms. Pingkham Lasasimma.

“UNICEF remains steadfast in our commitment to supporting the Government of the Lao PDR in the achievement of the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as strengthening the education and skills of our children and youths who are key to the Lao PDR’s graduation from least-developed country (LDC) status. We look forward with great interest and enthusiasm to strengthening our work with the Government of the Lao PDR under the Country Programme 2022-2026,” said Dr. Pia Rebello Britto.

Source: Lao News Agency

Ukraine’s top cyber official addressed a room full of security experts at a hackers convention following a two-day trip from Kyiv to a casino in Las Vegas.

During his unannounced visit, Victor Zhora, deputy head of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service, told the so-called Black Hat convention Wednesday that the number of cyber incidents that have hit Ukraine tripled in the months following Russia’s invasion of his country in late February.

“This is perhaps the biggest challenge since World War II for the world, and it continues to be completely new in cyberspace,” Zhora told an audience at the annual conference.

Ukraine faced a number of “huge incidents” in cyberspace from the end of March to the beginning of April, Zhora said, including the discovery of the “Industroyer2” malware that could manipulate equipment in electrical utilities to control the flow of power.

Russian hackers also hit Ukraine at the onset of the war though a cyberattack that took down regional satellite internet service.

Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine had detected over 1,600 “major cyber incidents,” Zhora said.

Zhora told Reuters in an interview that Microsoft, Amazon and Google had offered pro bono cloud computing services to the Ukrainian government as it moves its data out of the country, away from the destruction wreaked by Russian bombs and missiles.

Some of Ukraine’s data archives are being held within data centers across “multiple [European] countries,” he added, without elaborating.

Zhora said his trip to Las Vegas took two days. He traveled to neighboring Poland to stay a night before flying to the United States.

Zhora said he would not waste time on the slot machines at the sprawling Mandalay Bay casino, where the Black Hat conference is being held: “It would be inappropriate for me to gamble here while Ukrainian soldiers are defending our land.”

Source: Voice of America

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith Phnom Penh on Wednesday, with both pledging to build an unbreakable China-Laos community with a shared future, according to Xinhua News Agency report on 4 August.

During talks with Saleumxay on the sidelines of meetings of foreign ministers on East Asia cooperation, Wang lauded the strong momentum of development of China-Laos relations, the continuously consolidated strategic mutual trust and the fruitful results of practical cooperation between the two countries.

Wang noted that the opening of the China-Laos Railway in December last year elevated bilateral exchanges and cooperation to a new level, and injected new impetus into the construction of the China-Laos Economic Corridor.

Both sides should deepen strategic communication and coordination so as to further build an unbreakable China-Laos community with a shared future, he said, adding that both sides should enhance the exchanges of experience in party and state governance, jointly improve governance capability and promote their national development and socialist causes.

For his part, Saleumxay thanked China for its long-standing support and assistance to Laos’ economic and social development, saying the two countries have worked together to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and achieved remarkable results in practical cooperation, which demonstrates the true nature of bilateral relations that shares weal and woe.

Laos attaches great importance to learning from China’s experience in state governance and looks forward to strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields and building well the Laos-China community with a shared future, he added.

Saleumxay said that the recent provocative moves of the U.S. side on the Taiwan question broke its own commitments, violated the basic norms governing international relations, and infringed upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs has immediately issued a statement, making it clear that the Lao side adheres to the one-China principle and reiterating that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, Saleumxay said.

Laos opposes any attempt to create “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan,” and will continue to stand firmly with China and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, he noted.

Wang stressed that the United States, for its self-serving interests, has used every means without a bottom line, ignored basic norms governing international relations, and blatantly violated China’s sovereignty, adding that the U.S. national credibility has gone bankrupt.

China will make firm and necessary responses to the U.S. retrogressive acts of “using Taiwan to contain China,” he said, warning that any attempt by the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces “to look for U.S. support for their independence agenda” is doomed to fail, and will cause the greatest damage to the safety of the people in Taiwan.

Noting that mutual trust and mutual support are essential to the China-Laos community with a shared future, Wang said China appreciates Laos’ just position, and will continue to strengthen solidarity with the Lao side, firmly support each other in safeguarding their legitimate rights and development space, as well as uphold international fairness and justice.

Source: Lao News Agency

The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) is concerned over the development in the Taiwan Strait, including a provocative action, which may lead to a tension in the region.

The LPRP supports the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Government of the People’s Republic of China in its righteous mission to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as actively contributes to maintain the cause of peace, stability and cooperation for development in the region and the world.

The LPRP reaffirms its consistent policy of supporting “One China Policy” and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and opposes any intension aiming at creating a situation for “two China” or “one China, one Taiwan”.

The LPRP reiterates its support for the policy of the CPC on the national reunification by peaceful means.

Source: Lao News Agency

The UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office received USD$10 million from the Government of Japan to support digital immunization tools in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam. The donation will serve to strengthen health systems in the six countries with Immunization Information Systems and digital health efforts that allow for the monitoring of vaccination coverage and individuals receiving immunization. An estimated 13.5 million people will indirectly be reached through these interventions, including over 1,400 health facilities and 4,300 health workers.

Dr. Myo-Zin Nyunt, Deputy Regional Director of the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, said that despite the ongoing progress of digital health across the East Asia and Pacific region, many Health Management Information Systems remain largely paper-based. These paper-based forms need to be transcribed, increasing the risk for errors and preventing access to real-time data.

“The valuable contribution from Japan will help ensure that no child misses out on life-saving vaccinations by supporting the establishment of more sophisticated and robust vaccine delivery systems that are fully integrated in the existing health ecosystems.” said Dr. Myo- Zin Nyunt.

Core functionalities of the Immunization Information Systems include timely monitoring of immunization schedules, increased vaccination data timeliness, quality and completeness and identification of those who are unvaccinated, often called zero dose individuals.

Previously UNICEF East Asia and Pacific partnered with the Government of Japan to operationalize its “Last One Mile” flagship initiative ensuring that every person in every country gains access to COVID-19 vaccinations through strengthened health systems equipped with temperature-controlled environments to store, manage and transport these life-saving products.

In the last two years, the Government of Japan provided US$119 million to 74 countries, including nine countries in East Asia and the Pacific. UNICEF, along with its partners, supplies vaccines to 45 per cent of the world’s children under five in over 100 countries. UNICEF works with governments, the private sector, NGOs, and other UN agencies to engage communities, procure and distribute these vaccines, whilst keeping supplies safe and effective and ensuring affordable access for even the hardest-to-reach families.

Source: UN Children’s Fund

Highlights

• UNICEF provided 27,331 children aged 6 to 59 months with treatment for severe acute malnutrition and 7,401,147 children with Vitamin A supplementation.

• 119,418 children and caregivers were supported in accessing mental health and psychosocial support and 23,067 women, girls and boys in accessing gender-based violence risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions.

• Thanks to UNICEF technical assistance and advocacy to governments, over 22,290,945 households received new or additional cash transfers.

• UNICEF also provided 1,097,862 children with safe and appropriate WASH facilities and hygiene services in learning facilities and safe spaces.

Situation in Numbers

1.7 million children affected by severe wasting

7.4 million children missed first dose of measles vaccine

89 million people lack basic hygiene services at home

115 million children/adolescents lack access to education

Regional Funding Overview

In 2022, UNICEF appealed for US$ 118.8 million to meet the humanitarian needs of children, adolescents and women affected by emergencies, including chronic, protracted humanitarian situations as well as UNICEF’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. So far, a total of US$ 67.8 million has been received against the 2022 HAC (including US$ 48.4 million carried over from 2021 and US$ 19.5 million received in 2022) from both public and private donors. UNICEF acknowledges and is thankful for the generous contribution of donors supporting this joint effort to respond and mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies in the EAP region. Please refer to Annex B and Annex C for more detailed information on funding per functional area and country.

Regional Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

While the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in EAP remains high, the majority of cases has a mild to moderate trajectory, thanks to increasing vaccination rates throughout the region. Consequently, several countries in the region have eased movement restrictions. The resumption of disrupted access to essential health, nutrition, and social services, however, is still slow and declines in household incomes continued.

Due to the pandemic, several countries had postponed routine vaccination campaigns, increasing the risk of outbreaks of life-threatening diseases such as measles, diphtheria and polio. An estimated 1.7 million children in EAP are affected by severe wasting. Furthermore, access to life-saving WASH services was disrupted for millions of people as service providers struggled with staff health and safety concerns and financial difficulties. Education needs are even more urgent due to the extended school closures combined with insufficient distance learning. At least 80 million children were not reached by distance learning in 2020/21. UNESCO estimates that 4 per cent of students in the region are at risk of dropping out as a result of the prolonged school closures.

A combined approach of supporting vaccine roll-out while continuing to focus on efforts to respond to the socialeconomic impacts of the pandemic remains critical to save lives and alleviate suffering, especially for children.

Natural hazards, civil unrest, displacement and protracted conflicts also continue to impact the lives of children across East Asia and Pacific (EAP). In several countries, recurring natural disasters, including those induced by climate crises, constrain the socio-economic recovery from the pandemic. Typhoon Rai, which swept through the Philippines on 16 December, further exacerbated the vulnerability of children and their families who have already been struggling to cope with the devastating consequences of COVID-19. In Myanmar, the continuing armed conflict and targeted violence, coupled with the presence of COVID-19, is pushing a growing number of children into a situation of humanitarian needs. Further details on the situation in the Philippines and Myanmar can be found in separate situation reports dedicated to their respective UNICEF HAC appeals.

Source: UN Children’s Fund