Central African Republic

Some 450 non-State combatants have been disarmed and demobilized in western Central African Republic since the signing of the peace agreement in February, according to the United Nations mission in that country, including elements of the Front Démocratique du Peuple Centraficain and the Union des Forces Républicaines.

A humanitarian emergency in Burkina Faso is worsening as recurrent armed attacks and insecurity continue to force people to flee their homes.  Nearly 220,000 people are now displaced - 50,000 more than in May - and rains are impeding access to basic services.

More than 1.3 million people in north-west and south-west Cameroon need humanitarian assistance, up from 160,000 in 2018.  Non-State armed groups banned education, 80 per cent of schools are closed and 74 schools were destroyed.  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says half of those in need are children.

While the 6 February signing of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic gave rise to much hope for an end to the decades-long crisis in that country, the accord’s ultimate success will depend on the parties’ willingness to end the violence and engage in dialogue, the Special Representative told the Security Council today.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today said that more than 5 million families across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean spend over 40 per cent of their non-food household expenses on maternal health services.  The costs of prenatal care and delivery services can deter women from seeking medical attention.

World Health Organization experts arrived in Pakistan following an HIV outbreak in Sindh province, where some 600 cases —  more than half of them children under age five — have been identified.  The outbreak was first reported on 25 April, with a major HIV screening programme having started three days later.

Due to sporadic rainfall in Bangladesh’s Teknaf peninsula, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and aid partners will truck water in the coming days to 140,000 Rohingya refugees, where water rationing due to limited supply has raised concern about the potential for water-borne diseases.

The United Nations is stepping up its response to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is now in its tenth month and has claimed more than 1,200 lives.  The Secretary-General has appointed David Gressly, Deputy Head of mission, as the Organization’s Emergency Ebola Response Coordinator.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

UNICEF is launching a global campaign to emphasize the power and safety of vaccines, primarily aimed at parents, the agency announced today.  Launching next Wednesday, the campaign will coincide with the start of World Immunization Week.  The campaign will be conducted on social media with the hashtag #VaccinesWork.