Afghanistan

UNICEF released a report today showing there are nearly 240 million children with disabilities around the world, a new global approximation higher than previous estimates which considers symptoms of anxiety and depression, among other difficulties across several domains of functioning.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries has risen from 42 to 45 million people, as acute hunger spikes around the world.  The agency said needs are vastly surpassing available resources at a time when traditional funding streams are overstretched.

For Youth Day at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group and young climate activists discussed how to include young people in formal decision-making processes.  Indigenous youth leaders also shared on the importance of traditional knowledge as a vital component of climate action.

In Yemen, the United Nations and partners continue to provide life-saving aid to thousands of civilians on both sides of the front lines in Ma’rib, Al Bayda and Shabwah since fighting escalated in these governorates in September, amid calls by the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, for de-escalation.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez (Mexico):

The Secretary-General — in observance of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on 2 November — stated that 62 journalists were killed for doing their jobs in 2020.  Noting that the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones has risen in recent years, he urged leaders to demonstrate the political will needed to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the situation in the northern part of Ethiopia is rapidly deteriorating, amid fighting in and around Dessie and Kombolcha in the Amhara region, which led to large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs.  The two towns were already hosting a large number of displaced people from nearby areas.

A United Nations Children’s Fund report released today shows that at least 200 million schoolchildren are living in 31 low- and middle-income countries that remain unprepared to deploy remote learning in future emergency school closures.  It warns that the situation could be far worse than the available data shows.

Following is the text of Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the meeting on Afghanistan, organized by Iran, in Tehran today:

The latest Secretary-General’s report on safety and United Nations personnel describes an environment of heightened volatility, with no sign of improvement likely.  It notes that 28 civilian personnel of the Organization lost their lives to acts of violence and related incidents during 2020 and the first half of 2021.