DAILY RENDEZVOUS

Daily Rendezvous  WHO and UNICEF sound the alarm as new data shows global vaccination coverage continued to decline in 2021, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving vaccines   The largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years has been recorded in official data published today by WHO and UNICEF. The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunization coverage within and across countries – fell 5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 per cent. As a result, 25 million children missed out on one or more doses of DTP through routine immunization services in 2021 alone. This is 2 million more than those who missed out in 2020 and 6 million more than in 2019, highlighting the growing number of children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases. The decline was due to many factors including an increased number of children living ...

Daily Rendezvous On 15 January 2021, a shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda included the billionth dose supplied via COVAX. Together with our partners, COVAX is leading the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, with deliveries to 144 countries to date. But the work that has gone into this milestone is only a reminder of the work that remains. As of 13 January 2022, out of 194 Member States, 36 WHO Member States have vaccinated less than 10% of their population, and 88 less than 40%. COVAX’s ambition was compromised by hoarding/stockpiling in rich countries, catastrophic outbreaks leading to borders and supply being locked. And a lack of sharing of licenses, technology and know how by pharmaceutical companies meant manufacturing capacity went unused. COVAX is working with governments, manufacturers and partners to ensure that when countries receive vaccines they can get them to people quickly.   With update...

Daily Rendezvous Canada, Tuesday, banned travellers from Nigeria, Egypt, and Malawi over fears of the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, bringing to 10 the number of African countries targeted by Ottawa, according to AFP. “Foreign nationals who have transited or stayed in these 10 countries cannot enter Canada if they have been in those countries in the last two weeks,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said at a press conference. He also said all air travelers arriving from outside Canada, apart from the United States, would now need to be tested for Covid-19 at their point of entry, “Whether they are vaccinated or unvaccinated,” and that those travelers will need to isolate until their test results are available. First reported to the World Health Organization less than a week ago after being detected in southern Africa earlier in November, the Omicron variant has already appeared in several countries, stoking global fears about a coronavirus pandemic that has ...

Daily Rendezvous Efficient cooperation between companies and external law firms Especially in times of crisis, legal departments question their cooperation with external law firms and look for flexible, efficient and timely solutions for legal issues The corona pandemic is causing turmoil worldwide and has had a massive impact on economic activity. Internal legal departments are therefore facing new challenges. On the one hand, companies are cutting their budgets for legal services, and on the other hand, the complexity and amount of legal issues is increasing. In-house lawyers have to minimize their costs while also reducing the work pressure on their teams. Especially in times of crisis, legal departments question their cooperation with external law firms and look for flexible, efficient and timely solutions for legal issues. In the following, we will discuss the criteria companies might use to select external legal advisors, how outsourcing of legal services can be more ...

Daily Rendezvous The Adamawa state governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has warned residents that new stringent measures would soon be introduced in the state to contain the possible spread of the second wave of coronavirus spreading fast across the country. Fintiri said, residents must work hand-in-hand with governmnent to curb the spread of the virus by observing the basic protocols for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 including washing of hands, social distancing, using of hand sanitizers, avoiding over crowded places and wearing of face masks. This is contained in a press statement issued by the press secretary to the Adamawa state governor, Humwashi Wonosikau, and made available to Newsmen, Wednesday. Umaru Fintiri is concerned over the new wave of Coronavirus Pandemic which health authorities indicated spreads faster than the earlier. The statement said, "Governor Fintiri is putting the State on notice of a possible new restrictions because governm...