Africa

One truck carrying humanitarian assistance from the United Nations Children’s Fund crossed into north-west Syria from Türkiye through the Bab al-Salam crossing, making it a total of 18 trucks this week delivering life-saving relief items from United Nations agencies via that crossing.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms, in Nairobi today:

The World Health Organization announced today that 12 countries across different regions in Africa are set to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine over the next two years. The roll-out is a critical step forward in the fight against one of the leading causes of death on the continent.

Providing encouraging news about the decline in piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, briefers from both the United Nations and regional organizations also stressed the need to address obstacles hindering the complete implementation of the interregional maritime security mechanism — the Yaoundé Architecture — as the  Security Council took up the matter of peace and security in Africa today.

Central Africa is “richer in opportunities and resources than in challenges”, the Organization’s senior-most official in the subregion told the Security Council today in a briefing that touched on political developments and the impact of climate change on security.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is supporting the Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate in coordinating the emergency response to the devastating floods and landslides that authorities say have killed at least 42 people and impacted more than 37,000 people, including displacing some 19,000 people.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Second Session of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, today:

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

African Union-led peace support operations need predictable, adequate and sustainable support in light of a demonstrably inadequate current international peace architecture, senior officials from both the United Nations and the African Union told the Council today, as members discussed how best to leverage the latter organization’s regional expertise to address current and future crises in a context-specific manner.

The Acting Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Yvonne Helle, today warned of repeated demolitions, settlement expansion and settler violence after a Palestinian herding community in the West Bank was dismantled Monday. The United Nations and its partners will continue to provide assistance.