Afghanistan

A survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund found that 535,500 children in Burkina Faso under five years old are acutely malnourished, including 156,000 who suffer from severe acute malnutrition and are at imminent risk of death.  Community health workers have been mobilized to screen and treat children in the most remote areas.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

With the formal launch of peace negotiations imminent, the United Nations top official in Afghanistan warned the Security Council during a 3 September videoconference meeting that near-record violence in the country is creating an atmosphere of mistrust that risks derailing long-sought talks between the Government and the Taliban.

In Yemen, the United Nations and its aid partners report they have distributed emergency food, hygiene kits and other essential items to over 7,600 families impacted by deadly floods and torrential rains that destroyed homes, crops and livestock in July and August. An estimated 62,000 families have been affected.

Millions of refugees across Eastern Africa who rely on the World Food Programme (WFP) to survive will face serious hunger and malnutrition, the agency warned today, citing reduced donor funding due to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  WFP needs $323 million to assist refugees over the next six months.

Fighting in Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province has displaced 52,000 people since 16 August following attacks by a non-State armed group and responsive strikes by national security forces.  A surge of United Nations staff is under way to boost humanitarian capacity in Kunduz and a joint assessment team was deployed.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Dian Triansyah Djani (Indonesia):

In Zimbabwe, where 60 per cent of the population is projected to be food insecure by the end of 2020, the World Food Programme appealed for $250 million to prevent a human catastrophe.  A nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has led to joblessness in urban areas, growing hunger in rural areas and hyperinflation that has made basic goods unaffordable.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

A new United Nations report released today says that, despite a drop in civilian casualties in Afghanistan, it remains one of the deadliest conflicts in the world for civilians.  Meanwhile, a deteriorating humanitarian situation persists amid rising cases of COVID-19, with more than 36,000 confirmed cases and 1,269 deaths.