But now, there could be an easier alternative in the form of patches that can be simply applied to the skin, much like a sticking plaster.

Early data from a vaccine patch trial in the Gambia has shown promising indications that it could be effective in protecting children from measles.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has been helping to develop these vaccine microarray patches – or MAPS – as they are known, for several years already.

Birgitte Giersing, team lead at WHO’s Vaccine Product and Delivery Research Unit, said that the patches could be a major breakthrough in protecting vulnerable populations from preventable diseases.

Groundbreaking potential

“They are potentially groundbreaking vaccine delivery technology that could really contribute to increasing the coverage of life saving vaccines like measles and rubella…especially in low resource settings”, she told reporters in Geneva.

“And this is because they can be more easily delivered than vaccines that need to be injected, especially in outbreaks or in humanitarian emergency situations.”

Dr. Giersing explained that the patches could be especially useful in combating measles and rubella. Vaccines for both of these diseases have been available for decades but coverage levels dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic and now there are many millions of susceptible children in many countries.

“People may be more willing to be vaccinated by a patch than by a needle, so there’s really an acceptability advantage” to the patches, Dr Giersing said.

First ever guidelines to lower infection rates due to catheters published

In further health news, WHO on Thursday published the first global guidelines to prevent bloodstream and other infections caused by use of catheters placed in minor blood vessels while patients are undergoing minor procedures.

Poor practices in the routine use of catheters – how they are inserted and removed in the arm for example – can lead to a high risk of infections entering the system via the blood.

Serious consequences

This can lead to serious conditions such as sepsis, and difficult-to-treat complications in major organs like the brain and kidneys, WHO said.

Soft tissue infections at the insertion site of the catheter can also occur.

People who receive treatments through catheters are often particularly vulnerable to infections, as they might be seriously ill or have low immunity.

WHO estimates that from 2000 to 2018, average mortality among patients affected by healthcare-associated sepsis was 24.4 per cent, increasing to 52.3 per cent among patients treated in intensive care units.

“Infections associated with health care delivery represent a preventable tragedy and a serious threat to the quality and safety of health care,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO Assistant Director-General.

“Implementing clean care and infection prevention and control recommendations is critical to saving lives and alleviating a great deal of avoidable suffering experienced by people around the world.”

The new guidelines include 14 good practice statements and 23 recommendations on key areas for health workers, including better education and training for health workers.

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee faces revictimisation in Algeria: Rights experts

A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner now facing terrorism charges in Algeria should have the case against him thrown out because he has no chance of a fair trial, independent rights experts said on Thursday.

Saeed Bakhouche was transferred from the US detention centre to Algeria in April 2023, under assurances that he would be humanely treated.

But he was immediately arrested in Algeria, “detained incommunicado…threatened in interrogation and denied legal representation”.

In the dock

He is due to be tried later this month, said the rights experts, who report to the Human Rights Council, receive no salary and are fully independent of any government or organization.

In a statement, the human rights experts who include Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on countering terrorism, said that Mr. Bakhouche spent more than 20 years at the notorious US military prison in Cuba which was opened to hold suspected terrorists after the 9/11 attacks. 

Mr. Bakhouche was tortured at Guantanamo and suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, noted the experts, who warned that he “could not receive a fair and public trial in a national security case” in Algeria.

Among their other concerns, the rights experts highlighted the “overly broad definition of terrorism offences” in Algeria and the threat that Mr. Bakhouche would be detained in prisons “with documented risks of torture”.

The music legend held a press conference following an epic performance at a meeting of the UN Special Committee against Apartheid to honour him on his 35th birthday.

“All people are created equal, not created to take care of another race of people,” he told the committee.

“The resettlement camps are wrong. If they are so great, why don’t the whites want to live there?”

Watch Mr. Wonder’s full appearance in the General Assembly Hall here, and listen to his birthday press conference here.

In 1985, South Africa’s Government banned his songs, including It’s Wrong (Apartheid), after the musician dedicated his Oscar award to Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner since 1962 who fought against the concept of legal race-based segregation.

Five years later, in 1990, Mr. Mandela addressed the UN Special Committee against Apartheid himself, four months after his prison release and four years before he was elected President of South Africa. Listen to Mr. Mandela’s full address here.

The UN General Assembly has taken a range of actions against apartheid, including adopting resolution 32/105 B proclaiming 1978 as the International Anti-Apartheid Year and another in 2009 recognising 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day.

On #ThrowbackThursday, UN News is showcasing pivotal moments across the UN’s past. From the infamous and nearly-forgotten to world leaders and global superstars, stay tuned for a taste of the UN Audiovisual Library’s 49,400 hours of video recordings and 18,000 hours of audio chronicling.

Visit UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive playlist here and our accompanying series here. Join us next Thursday for another dive into history.

Volker Türk said he was concerned by the increasing number of journalists charged, convicted and jailed for their independent reporting, in what appears to be an intensification of a crackdown on dissenting voices.

He described the continuous attacks on free speech and the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia as “very troubling”.

“The intensification of the crackdown on journalists’ independent work must immediately cease and the right to inform – a key component of the right to freedom of expression – needs to be upheld,” he said. 

Criminal charges, lengthy sentences 

The number of imprisoned journalists in Russia has reached an all-time high since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the High Commissioner’s Office, OHCHR, reported. 

At least 30 journalists are currently detained under a variety of criminal charges that include terrorism, extremism, disseminating knowingly false information about the armed forces, spying, treason, extortion, infringing upon people’s rights, violating the provisions of the law on foreign agents, inciting mass disturbances, and illegal possession of explosives or drugs.

Twelve are serving sentences ranging from five-and-a-half to 22 years behind bars. They include Vladimir Kara-Murza, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post newspaper in the United States, who was on Monday awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. 

Controlling the narrative 

Since March, at least seven journalists have faced administrative or criminal charges, particularly for criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine or for alleged links to the late opposition politician Alexey Navalny, and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which was labelled as ‘extremist’ in 2021.

“The Russian authorities appear to be attempting to further strengthen control of the narrative, both around domestic issues and the conduct of hostilities in Ukraine,” Mr. Türk said. 

“As a result, people in Russia have increasingly restricted access to non-State information and viewpoints, which hampers their ability to benefit from diverse sources and make fully informed decisions on matters of vital public interest.” 

Release jailed journalists 

The UN rights chief also expressed concern over the frequent use of the broad legislative framework to combat terrorism and extremism, urging the authorities to amend the legislation. 

“Journalists should be able to work in a safe environment without fear of reprisals – in line with Russia’s international human rights obligations,” he said. “I call on the authorities to immediately drop charges against journalists detained solely for doing their jobs, and to release them.”