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Libya: Market shortages and price spikes amid Coronavirus

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The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that if Libya is to have any chance against COVID-19, the ongoing conflict and attacks on critical civilian infrastructure must come to an immediate halt.

The report said that Libya’s immediate needs include support to rapid response teams managed by NCDC, procurement and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), establishment of labs and procurement of lab diagnostic kits and supplies, establishment and support to isolation sites and wards (within or outside public hospitals), provision of training, health education and awareness materials.

the report said that its market research partner, REACH, conducted a Rapid Market Assessment in Libya to provide a brief city-level overview of market functionality, with a focus on shortages and price spikes for basic food and hygiene items. The information was gathered between 30 March and 1 April from key informants in 21 cities across Libya.

According to the assessment, 48 per cent of assessed cities reported food shortages and 86 per cent of assessed cities reported food price spikes. Shortages of basic food items, such as eggs, vegetables and wheat products, were most frequently reported. Food prices spiked in the majority of assessed cities directly after COVID-19 prevention measures were implemented, with some locations reporting temporary price increases of 500-900 per cent. In some cities in the eastern and southern regions, authorities reportedly intervened to correct price hikes.

The report said that ongoing clashes, along with COVID-19 restriction measures, continue to hamper humanitarian access and the free movement of medical and other humanitarian personnel, as well as humanitarian assistance across the country. Many requests for movements between cities and for release of items in customs require individual authorizations to be negotiated with multiple parties.

It said that OCHA continues to advocate with authorities, including at the highest levels, for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access for humanitarian personnel and assistance, for both ongoing humanitarian programming and COVID-19 response activities. This includes the removal of all restrictions and immediate importation of health supplies both for the COVID-19 response and other humanitarian assistance.

Stephanie Williams: “oil blockade, water cutoff and electricity cuts are a collective punishment”

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 During “Flusna” TV programme, the Acting Special Representative and the Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Stephanie Turco Williams, did not only condemn cutting off water and power supplies in Libya, but she also condemned oil operations’ suspension.

Stephanie Williams highlighted the harmful overcomes of blockades at different levels, considering these acts as a method of “collective punishment”. “This is unacceptable,” she claimed.

The UN envoy reported the United Nations’ great worry regarding the possibility of Coronavirus spread in Libya, especially in the light of continuous fighting.

“A big number of Libyan emigrants may be infected with this pandemic because of the ongoing fight,” she indicated.

“Libya’s problems cannot be solved with weapons (…) the military escalation is a source of Libyans’ misery.”

Libya provides financial support to small business owners

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According to the licenses registered within the Municipality of Central Tripoli, about 3,000 businesses have been forced to close their doors because of the Coronavirus.

In order to help business owners hurt by the coronavirus epidemic to overcome the difficult circumstances resulting from the curfew.

The municipality submitted a proposal to Libya’s Presidential Council to allocate 500 LYD per month, as a minimum, in order to help stave off the economic effects of Covid-19 and help small business owners. It also added that this aid project will require around half a million Libyan dinars per month.

Now is ‘not the time’ to reduce funding for the World Health Organization in COVID-19 fight

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Now is a time for unity in the global battle to push the COVID-19 pandemic into reverse, not a time to cut the resources of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is spearheading and coordinating the global body’s efforts, said UN chief António Guterres, on Tuesday.

The UN chief’s statement, came as the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced early on Tuesday evening that he was halting funding for the UN health agency, pending a review of its response to the initial outbreak.

WHO, with thousands of its staff aiding and assisting operations across the world to limit the transmission of the coronavirus, “is on the front lines, supporting Member States and their societies, especially the most vulnerable among them, with guidance, training, equipment and concrete life-saving services”, said the Secretary-General.

“It is my belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19.”

Reiterating the argument which he made last week, the UN chief noted that given the unprecedented nature of COVID-19 and the subsequent global response that was needed to defeat it, “it is possible that the same facts have had different readings by different entities. Once we have finally turned the page on this epidemic, there must be a time to look back fully to understand how such a disease emerged and spread its devastation so quickly across the globe, and how all those involved reacted to the crisis.”

The lessons learned will be essential to effectively address similar challenges, as they may arise in the future”, Mr. Guterres added. “But now is not that time.”

74 million people in Arab world lack hand-washing facilities

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Some 74 million people in the water-scarce Arab region are at greater risk of catching the novel coronavirus because they lack a sink or soap at home, the United Nations said Wednesday.

This includes 31 million people in Sudan, more than 14 million in war-torn Yemen and 9.9 million in Egypt, a UN report said.

“While it has been agreed worldwide that hand-washing with soap and water is the best prevention against COVID-19 contagion, this simple act proves to be difficult in a region where 74 million people lack access to a basic hand-washing facility,” the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia said.

“Refugees and people living in conflict areas or under occupation bear an additional burden,” it added.

An estimated 26 million refugees and displaced people are at greater risk of contracting the illness region-wide, as they lack adequate access to water and hygiene services, ESCWA said.

“It is urgent to ensure access to clean water and sanitation services to everyone everywhere, at no cost for those who cannot afford it, in order to avoid further spread of the coronavirus,” ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti said.

About 87 million people in the region also lack access to drinking water at home, forcing them to collect it from a public source and similarly threatening their health, the UN agency warned.

In a region where 10 out of 22 countries have insufficient piped water supply, more hand-washing was likely to increase household demand by four million to five million cubic metres, it said.

IEA: “It may go down as Black April in the history of the oil industry”

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 International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday this month could prove the worst ever experienced by the oil industry.

“In a few years’ time, when we look back on 2020 we may well see that it was the worst year in the history of global oil markets,”

Birol told a reporters on a conference call after the IEA energy watchdog released its monthly report.

“During that terrible year, the second quarter may well have been the worst of the lot. During that quarter, April may well have been the worst month – it may go down as Black April in the history of the oil industry.”

IEA: oil market falls too big to offset with output cuts

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday forecast a 29 million barrel per day (bpd) dive in April oil demand to levels not seen in 25 years and warned no output cut by producers could fully offset the near-term falls facing the market.

Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell following the IEA’s monthly report, trading down more than 4% or $1.30 to $28.30 per barrel at 10:27 GMT.

The IEA forecast a 9.3 million bpd drop in demand for 2020 despite what it called a “solid start” by producers following a record deal to curb supply in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“By lowering the peak of the supply overhang and flattening the curve of the build-up in stocks, they help a complex system absorb the worst of this crisis,” the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report.

Global reaction to Trump withdrawing WHO funding

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U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to temporarily halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump said the WHO “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said it promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak.

The United States is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Dr. Patrice Harris called it “a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier” and urged Trump to reconsider.

UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES

“Not the time” to reduce resources for WHO operations. Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences,” he said.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY

“The move sends the wrong message during the middle of a pandemic, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the center.

Adalja said the WHO does make mistakes, as it did in delaying the response to the Ebola outbreak in 2013 and 2014 in West Africa. He said reforms may be needed, but that work needs to take place after the pandemic has passed.

“It’s not the middle of a pandemic that you do this type of thing,” he said.

Adalja said the WHO collects information about where the virus is active in every county in the world, which the United States needs to help guide decisions about when to open borders.

NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN

“At a time like this when we need to be sharing information and we need to have advice we can rely on, the WHO has provided that. We will continue to support it and continue to make our contributions,” she said.

 AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON

Morrison said he sympathised with Trump’s criticisms of the WHO, especially its support of re-opening China’s “wet markets”, where freshly slaughtered animals are sold and where the outbreak first appeared in the city of Wuhan late last year.

“But that said, the WHO also as an organisation does a lot of important work including here in our region in the Pacific and we work closely with them,” Morrison said.

“We are not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here, but they are also not immune from criticism and immune from doing things better.” 

Trump halts World Health Organization funding amid coronavirus pandemic

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 President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic while his administration reviews its response to the global crisis.

Trump told a White House news conference the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said the group had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred.

The United States is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.

The hold on funding was expected. Trump has been increasingly critical of the organization as the global health crisis has continued, and he has reacted angrily to criticism of his administration’s response.

The Man-made River: Water supplies flow back to Tripoli

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In a statement posted on facebook, the Man-made River Authority claimed that water supplies started flowing back to Tripoli and other affected areas, stressing that water services should be distanced from any disputes or demands and not be used as a tool to obtain personal gains.

The Man-made River Authority welcomed the efforts aimed at stopping attacks against water facilities, especially in light of the exceptional conditions with respect to the Coronavirus epidemic, as water is essential to prevention efforts.