Central African Republic

The United Nations is scaling up life-saving aid for north-west Syria, including health items to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.  In May alone, it sent 1,781 trucks from Turkey, the highest number since cross-border operations began in 2014, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.

For the first time since 2018, the World Food Programme has been able to send a humanitarian convoy from Kenya directly into South Sudan through the Nadapal Border crossing.  The nine-truck convoy carried 280 metric tons of food, enough to feed 20,000 people for a month.  The route’s reopening cuts travel times in half.

UNDP announced the winners of the eleventh Equator Prize, recognizing indigenous communities that create innovative, nature-based solutions to biodiversity loss and climate change.  They are from Canada, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico and Thailand.

The twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will now take place from 1-12 November 2021, in Glasgow.  United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said that if done right, recovery from the COVID-19 crisis can foster a more inclusive climate path.

The Secretary-General’s annual report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict has been released.  Covering 2019, it documents the death and injury of tens of thousands; the displacement of millions; as well as widespread reports of sexual violence, noting children were forced to take part in fighting.

Somalia is dealing with COVID-19, floods and the worst desert locust upsurge in 25 years amid protracted conflict and significant displacement. As aid partners and authorities are scaling up efforts, the revised 2020 Somalia humanitarian response plan remains less than 17 per cent funded, at $210.8 million out of $1.25 billion.

Ahead of Mother’s Day — observed in May in nearly 130 countries — the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is spotlighting ways that COVID-19 has recast motherhood and overwhelmed health facilities.  It is calling on Governments to help pregnant women receive check-ups and delivery care.

Anti-coronavirus measures are exposing victims of human trafficking to further exploitation and limiting their access to essential services, a new analysis released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said today, noting also the emergence of new opportunities for organized crime to profit from the crisis.

On 5 May 2020, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic amended the list entry of the following individual included on its list of individuals and entities, as specified in underline below.

In South Africa, the United Nations has launched a $136 million emergency appeal to help up to 10 million people in vulnerable communities facing COVID-19-related risks in health, water, sanitation, food security and gender-based violence.