Treatments for COVID-19, school meals in Venezuela, Tigray Friday News

Who recommends two treatments against COVID-19: baricitinib and sotrovimab

Who has recommended two new treatments to treat COVID-19: baricitinib and a monoclonal antibody drug, sotrovimab.

Baricitinib is an oral drug used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

"it is an immunomodulator and is suitable for patients with severe or critical COVID-19," explained Dr. Janet Díaz, the Organization's clinical management leader, who explained that it is administered with corticosteroids.

It is an alternative to other arthritis drugs recommended by WHO in July 2021.

Who also unconditionally recommends the use of a monoclonal antibody drug, sotrovimab, for the treatment of mild or moderate COVID-19 in patients at high risk of hospitalization, such as elderly, immunodepressed, with underlying diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity, and not vaccinated.

Sotrovimab is an alternative to a monoclonal antibody cocktail, cassirivimab-imdevimab, recommended in September, which according to laboratory studies respond worse to omicron. Sotrovimab retains its effectiveness according to preliminary results.

The expert group preparing the guidelines also examined two other drugs for severe and critical COVID-19: ruxolitinib and tofacitinib. Given its uncertain effects, WHO discourages its use.

World Food Programme expands distribution of school meals in Venezuela

© WFP/Lorena PeñaPaquetes de comida para distribuir en escuelas de Venezuela

The World Food Programme is expanding its school meals project in Venezuela to reach more than 110,000 students and school staff in the north-west of the country.

The agency is extending the pilot program that began in Falcón, where 156,000 kits have been distributed since July to the states of Barinas, Trujillo and Yaracuy, gradually increasing the monthly food rations that it distributes in 1000 preschool and special education schools.

The programme targets students under six years of age in areas with the greatest food insecurity.

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The rations, which are intended to meet the caloric needs of young boys and girls for one month, consist of six kilos of rice, four kilos of lentils, one pound of iodized salt and one litre of vegetable oil.

The World Food Programme manages its own supply chain, from the purchase of food to the distribution of rations in schools.

The long-term goal is to provide meals in 11 states in Venezuela, reaching up to 1.5 million people by the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

No food or medicine in Tigray

© UNICEF/Mulugeta AyeneNiño en consulta por desnutrición en un centro de salud en Tigray, Etiopía.

In northern Ethiopia, the World Food Programme warns that its food aid operations are about to stop because heavy fighting has blocked the passage of fuel and food.

No WFP convoy has reached Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, since mid-December. Stocks of enriched food for the treatment of undernourished children and women have been exhausted, and the last cereals, legumes and oil will be distributed next week.

"we now have to choose who goes hungry to prevent another from starving," said Michael Dunford, WFP regional director for East Africa, who called for "immediate guarantees from all parties to the conflict to ensure safe humanitarian corridors."

After more than a year of conflict in northern Ethiopia, an estimated 9.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The World Health Organization said this week that they haven't been able to send medicines to Tigray since July. Its director, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, denounced a total blockade of the population that has lasted for more than a year and has no comparison in the world.

"of course I'm from Tigray, but what I'm saying is not biased. I'm telling the truth. The situation is serious. Nowhere in the world will they find a crisis like the one in northern Ethiopia, especially in Tigray. None. Nowhere in the world is there a hell like the one we're witnessing in Tigray. "

UK border law will lead to serious human rights violations, say experts

ONU//Anton UspenskyUna de las preocupaciones del Fondo Monetario Internacional es una recuperación a distantas velocidades. En la imagen, el barcazas recorren el río Tamesis en Londres.

UN human rights experts believe that the UK Nationality and Border Bill will increase the risks faced by all migrants and asylum seekers, especially children, and lead to serious human rights violations.

"the bill does not recognize the government's obligation to ensure the protection of migrant and asylum-seeking children, and greatly increases the risk of statelessness, in violation of international law," they said in a communiqué.

Experts stated that the initiative dismantled fundamental protection of democratic societies and pushed vulnerable people into dangerous situations.

They also ensured that under this Bill, women who have suffered gender-based violence can be expelled from the United Kingdom.

"the draft law instrumentalizes national security concerns, increasing the risks of discrimination and serious human rights violations, in particular against minorities, migrants and refugees. We urge the Government to reverse these proposed measures, "they conclude.