Africa

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that 60 community members, including 20 women and 10 ex-combatants, are benefiting from its Community Violence Reduction project in a village in North Kivu’s Masisi Territory, where they are gaining skills in the installation and maintenance of street lighting.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, and The Body Shop, launched a campaign today that seeks to get young voices into the halls of power.  The campaign, “Be Seen, Be Heard”, seeks to create long-term structural changes that will make decision-making more inclusive of young people and ensure their participation in political life.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the Africa Dialogue Series Launch, in New York, today:

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

Donors pledged $1.4 billion to respond to the drought in the Horn of Africa – the worst in the region in four decades – that has left more than 15 million people severely food insecure in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  Of the total, $1 billion will go towards immediate and life-saving aid, such as food.

The security crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo threatens to frustrate favourable developments in the wider Great Lakes region, the Security Council heard today, as members welcomed that country’s recent admission into the East African Community and stressed the need to combat the illicit trade of natural resources that continues to fuel conflict.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the Peacebuilding Commission meeting on the peacebuilding challenges in the Lake Chad Basin, in New York on 20 April:

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) today strongly condemned the widespread sexual violence, as well as killings of civilians, and attacks on aid workers in Leer County.  UNMISS has carried out 10 verification missions and says that 72 civilians were killed, and 64 cases of sexual violence have been recorded.

The following statement was issued by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Over 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by the World Health Organization.  The agency estimates that, if widely deployed, the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 children annually.