Countries took Stand to Stamp out Drug Resistant Infections
• The 193 countries of the United Nations have agreed a landmark declaration to rid the world of drug-resistant infections or ‘superbugs’ on September 20, 2016.
• The problem has been caused by over-use of antimicrobial medicines for humans, animals and agriculture.
• The nations have committed to develop surveillance and regulatory systems on the use and sales of antimicrobial medicines for humans and animals.
• Encourage innovative ways to develop netf antibiotics, and improve rapid diagnostics, f Educate health professionals and the public on how to prevent drug resistant infections.
UNGA Leaders Adopted New York Declaration for Refugees
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the ‘New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants’, expressing political will to address relevant issues involving such groups and share responsibility for large movements on a global scale on September 20, 2016.
• By adopting the declaration, member states are making bold commitments, including to start negotiations leading to an international conference and the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration in 2018.
• Another objective is to achieve a more equitable sharing of the burden arid responsibility fQr hosting and supporting the world’s refugees by adopting a global compact on refugees in two years’ time.
World Conservation Congress Held in Hawaii
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress 2016 was hosted by the US government in Honolulu, Hawaii, from September 1 to 10, 2016.
• The theme of the Congress, ‘Planet at the Crossroads’, focused on the recently agreed collective challenge of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the next 15 years, which represents an ambitious agenda for improving human living conditions for all, without depleting the planet’s natural assets beyond its capacity to recover, as well as the Paris Agreement 2015.
• IUCN members approved 106 resolutions and recommendations aimed at improving the governance, programmes and policies of the Union, and presented the Hawai’i Commitments : globally transformative and innovative conservation initiatives to meet the critical challenges and opportunities of our time, including the imperative to scale up action on biodiversity and the SDGs. Members also elected their new Council, with Zhang Xinsheng re-elected as President.
• The World Conservation Union was established in 1948 as an independent scientific organisation devoted to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.
WHO Declared Sri Lanka Malaria-free
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Sri Lanka free of malaria, hailing it as a ‘remarkable public health achievement’ for the Indian Ocean island, once one of the most affected nations in the world on September 5, 2016.
• Sri Lanka had begun an anti-malaria campaign that successfully targeted the mosquito-borne parasite that causes the disease, not just mosquitoes. Health education and effective surveillance also helped the campaign.
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