Silence descends on venue for CITES' meeting

The triennial meeting of nations signatory to CITES (the UN International Convention on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) has still not been rescheduled two full months after the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka forced its cancellation.

Why the delay? Why is the meeting being held hostage to safety considerations in Sri Lanka?  If terrorism is still a potential threat there, why not shift the meeting to the facilities in Geneva already well prepared to host UN agencies?

Worse, the secretary general of CITES has remained silent on the policy considerations involved in her decision. She has not shared with the thousands of delegates, observers and journalists who planned to attend the May 2019 meeting why her decision is taking so long.

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

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