Africa

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Niger’s western Tillabery region, 10,000 people have fled their homes since 14 May, following attacks by non-State armed groups in the Anzourou district, near the border with Mali.  The number of internally displaced persons in Tillabery has nearly doubled in 18 months to 102,000.

Despite having suffered some of the COVID-19 pandemic’s worst socioeconomic impacts — including inflated debt burdens, job losses and worsening conflicts — Africa has to date received just 2 per cent of vaccine doses produced globally, the Security Council heard today, as it convened a high-level virtual debate on addressing the root causes of conflict in the continent’s post-COVID-19 recovery process.

Five years after the 2017 influx into Bangladesh of Rohingya refugees, food security in Cox’s Bazar remains a top priority, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.  A joint response plan calls for $943 million to help the refugees and their host communities; 25 per cent of the funds will go to fight hunger and malnutrition.

Amid a worsening security situation marked by mounting terrorist attacks, troops deployed to stem the tide of violent extremism in Africa’s Sahel region require more predictable funding and broader international support, the United Nations senior peace operations official told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting today.

United Nations officials in the Central African Republic report that 300 peacekeepers have been deployed to Bakouma, one of several places where security concerns prevented the holding of elections in 2020.  They will protect the civilian population and help organize legislative elections later in May.

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

The Elsie Initiative, a United Nations Trust Fund that supports deployment of uniformed women to peace operations, announced this morning its first five recipients — Liberia, Mexico, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone — during a high-level virtual event.  The Fund also launched its second programming round.

The first members of the International Organization for Migration’s emergency response team arrived in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines today to deliver essential shelter and emergency items to thousands of people forcibly displaced after the eruption of La Soufrière volcano.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the European Union-Africa Green Investment Forum, today:

United Nations humanitarian staff in Nigeria continue to receive alarming reports of clashes between insurgent groups and the armed forces in the town of Damasak in Borno State.  Recently, they say, non-State armed groups have been searching house to house, reportedly looking for civilians identified as aid workers.