The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that volcanic activity on Vanuatu’s Ambae Island, which has a population of more than 10,000 people, has intensified in the last few weeks. The Vanuatu Council of Ministers has called for the immediate compulsory evacuation of Ambae residents to the neighbouring island of Maewo.
In progress at UNHQ
Cameroon
The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed deep alarm today at persistent reports of human rights violations and abuses in Cameroon’s English‑speaking north‑west and south‑west regions, as well as in the extreme north. He said it is regrettable that the Government failed to grant the Human Rights Office access to the two regions despite repeated requests.
UNAIDS issued a stark wake‑up call today, saying time to reach the 2020 targets for HIV is running out. New HIV infections are rising in some 50 countries, while AIDS-related deaths are not falling fast enough. A new report has found that gains made for children are not being sustained, and new infections among them have declined only 8 per cent in the past two years.
Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan are responding to urgent needs of the estimated 50,000 people displaced in Leer, Mayendit and Koch Counties in Unity state amid a sharp escalation in fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), SPLA-in-Opposition and armed groups.
In Syria, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is delivering United Nations humanitarian aid for more than 92,000 people to Talbiseh in northern rural Homs and Tlul Elhomor in southern Hama. This is the first convoy to northern rural Homs since a convoy reached Dar al‑Kabira and surrounding areas on 4 March.
The World Health Organization reports that they have deployed 39 staff members, with plans under way for an additional 15 personnel, to rapidly contain a confirmed outbreak of cholera in Nigeria’s Adamawa State. As of 26 May, 434 suspected cases, including 13 deaths, have been reported.
The Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index for February found that rising world prices for staple grains and dairy products more than offset lower prices for vegetable oils, leading global food commodity prices up 1.1 per cent. FAO also lowered projections for global wheat harvests this year.
The United Nations takes note of the recent decision by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, to resign, to “allow further political reforms to take place in the country aimed at widening democratic space”.
The Governments of Brazil and Nigeria launched mass immunization campaigns to protect people against yellow fever. With support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, an estimated 23.8 million people in Brazil, and 25 million people in Nigeria, are expected to be vaccinated.
Temperatures plummeted across Ukraine, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported, saying the distribution of aid, including clothing, fuel and cash to the most vulnerable people impacted by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The aid will reach some 15,300 people, mainly single parents, elderly, families with many children and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses.