• On 8 February, two health facilities in Kano state, Nigeria, were attacked, killing eleven people, including health workers, and injuring several others.
• Such attacks on health workers are absolutely and unconditionally unacceptable, and must be condemned in the strongest terms. Our sympathy goes out to the victims and their families. It is yet another example of the heroic and courageous work of frontline health workers, often working under extremely dangerous conditions in efforts to ensure the health of populations everywhere no matter where they live.

• The outbreak in Katsina, northern Nigeria, is continuing, with four new wild poliovirus (WPV) type 1 cases reported this week. Katsina has reported 16 cases of WPV1 since May, more than any other state in the country. Katsina now accounts for 40% of all WPV1 cases in Nigeria since May. Upwards of one-third of children remain under-immunized in the state. During the most recent supplementary immunization activity (SIA), nearly one-third of children were missed in Katsina city (the most populous part of the state and location of the bulk of cases).

Nigeria is the only country in the world to report wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) in the past four months.

Nigeria

• Two new cases were reported in the past week (both WPV1s from Katsina), bringing the total number of cases for 2012 to 72. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 23 July (WPV1 from Kaduna).

L’épidémie de choléra en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre s’est intensifiée cette année. Plus de 85 000 cas, dont plus de 2 500 décès, ont été relevés depuis janvier 2011. Les effets cumulés de deux années consécutives d’épidémie importante dans la région (2010-2011) ont créé une situation humanitaire préoccupante. L’UNICEF et l’OMS ont proposé une stratégie régionale pour lutter contre l’épidémie.

Nigeria is a federal republic of 36 states and a federal capital territory, with a population of about 150 million. In 2007 Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) was elected to a four-year term as president, along with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, also of the PDP. The election was marred by what international and domestic observers characterized as massive fraud and serious irregularities, including vote rigging and political violence.

GA/L/3367

Sixty-fourth General Assembly
Sixth Committee
8th & 9th Meetings (AM & PM)

Deputy Secretary-General Says Issue Is Central to Vision of Secure World

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met today to address the issue of the development of the rule of law at national and international levels. Although there were reports of progress in many areas, concerns of an inequality in adherence to desired standards were also expressed.

HEADLINES

- Nigeria outbreak increases global eradication budget: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has published, revised increased budget figures for 2008-2009. The budgetary increases relate primarily to emergency outbreak response activities in Nigeria and across west and central Africa, due to the new type 1 polio outbreak spreading from northern Nigeria (see 'Nigeria' section below, for more). As at August

- World cereal production in 2008 is forecast to increase 2.6 percent to a record 2 164 million tonnes. The bulk of the increase is expected to be in wheat following significant expansion in plantings in major producing countries. Coarse grains output is tentatively forecast to remain around the bumper level of last year. Rice production is foreseen to increase slightly reflecting production incentives in several Asian countries. However, much will depend on climatic conditions in the coming months.

- Should the expected growth in 2008

EL NIÑO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION (ENSO) DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION