Central America


At the high-level pledging event for the Central Emergency Response Fund yesterday, 40 donors announced contributions of more than $419 million for 2024, thus exceeding the $409 million pledged last year. In 2023, the Fund allocated more than $640 million to support millions of people in dire need in 40 countries and territories.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic facilitated a school’s reopening in the Haute-Kotto Prefecture. Deployed there to deter armed groups and help restore socioeconomic activities, peacekeepers also provided school supplies and have launched a community violence reduction project.

The United Nations team in Cuba launched a $42 million Plan of Action to support authorities to address the needs of people impacted by Hurricane Ian. The plan is expected to benefit almost 800,000 people and includes $3.7 million repurposed from the team’s funding and an additional $7.8 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund.

In South Africa, Acting Resident Coordinator, Ayodele Odusola and her team are focused on rebuilding the KwaZulu-Natal province and, in response to the pandemic, providing more than $750,000 in assistance and technical support and working with authorities through the district development model to improve social services.

Mahamat Annadif, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for West Africa, and Foreign Minister of Guinea, Morissanda Kouyaté, launched a new initiative to facilitate an inclusive transition in Guinea by fostering reconciliation at national and community levels and increasing participation of women and all communities.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the situation in the northern part of Ethiopia is rapidly deteriorating, amid fighting in and around Dessie and Kombolcha in the Amhara region, which led to large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs.  The two towns were already hosting a large number of displaced people from nearby areas.

In Nigeria, the World Food Programme today warned that it might cut food aid as early as next month to more than 500,000 people in the north‑east unless it receives at least $55 million in urgent funding.  The cuts come as severe hunger reaches a five-year high due to years of conflict and worsened by COVID-19.

At the opening of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, the Secretary‑General stressed that food systems can and must play a leading role in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals and called for a world where healthy and nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.

One billion children are at extremely high risk of suffering the effects of the climate crisis, according to a new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  Environmental shocks may be particularly severe in the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria, jeopardizing access to education and basic services.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned today that a further escalation in violence is unfolding across Myanmar, saying there appear to be no efforts towards de-escalation, but rather a build-up of troops in key areas, contrary to commitments the military made to end the violence.