The Security Council today expressed concern at growing insecurity, terrorism and maritime piracy in West Africa, the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea and encouraged further national and regional efforts to counter those threats, as it welcomed efforts by countries in the region, as well as the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to tackle security challenges amid a grim humanitarian situation made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks. The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.
The World Health Organization reported that weekly deaths from COVID-19 in Africa reached a record peak in the week ending 1 August, with more than 6,400 deaths recorded — the highest seven-day toll since the onset of the pandemic in Africa. South Africa and Tunisia accounted for more than 55 per cent of the fatalities.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that half a million people in parts of Balochistan province in Pakistan are facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. Another 100,000 people need immediate life-saving assistance due to severe drought-like conditions.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has launched a new Peace Fellows programme to increase participation in the country’s peace process. It brings together representatives from all 10 states and three administrative areas to share information about the 2018 Peace Agreement, with a focus on education.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the Africa Regional Food Systems Summit Dialogue, today:
Humanitarian officials in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said the entry of goods into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing remains limited, and some 250,000 people are still without regular access to piped water. They called for a return to the predictable entry of goods and the easing of movement restrictions.
Volatile security conditions, climbing humanitarian needs, electoral transparency and intercommunal tensions driven by climate change are just some of the complex issues facing countries across West Africa and the Sahel, the Secretary General’s Special Representative in the region told the Security Council today, as he outlined ways his office is collaborating with regional Governments to reverse precarious trends.
The World Meteorological Organization and its partners today released the first Hydromet Gap report, which states that an estimated 23,000 lives could be saved annually and at least $162 billion per year in potential benefits could be realized by improving weather forecasts, early warning systems, and climate information.
While Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan all have legitimate claims to, and concerns about, use of the Nile River Basin’s waters, the three neighbours should negotiate in good faith towards a mutually beneficial agreement on the historic waterway’s sustainable management, the senior United Nations official for the Horn of Africa told the Security Council today.
