Africa

On the heels of International Water Day, which was yesterday, humanitarian staff in the Horn of Africa say millions of people face severe water shortages and are going hungry due to the devastating drought in that region, which risks becoming one of the Horn’s worst climate-induced emergencies in the last 40 years.

Some 175,000 people in Ethiopia have been displaced from their homes due to the drought ravaging the Horn of Africa, and over 1.5 million cows and other livestock are estimated to have died, humanitarian affairs officials say.  The drought also displaced 670,000 men, women and children in neighbouring Somalia.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, in Kigali, Rwanda, today:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana as his Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.

As South Sudan marks the two-year anniversary of the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity, the United Nations Mission there is calling for a fresh push to finalize transitional security arrangements and pass new legislation to support constitution-making and elections, among other steps.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon as his Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU).

At least 10 people have died and more than 43,000 are displaced across 180 displacement sites as a result of Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, which made landfall on the east coast of Madagascar on 5 February.  The first aerial assessment took place today with a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flight.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the thirty-fifth Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, in Addis Ababa today:

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following Tuesday’s attack in Ituri province, United Nations peacekeepers are patrolling the area with reinforced troops to provide security around the Savo displaced persons site and are facilitating medical supplies and evacuations to Bunia for wounded civilians.

At a meeting today on the Sahel region, the Emergency Relief Coordinator for the United Nations said that nearly 15 million people in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.  This is 4 million more than one year ago.