Children

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ flagship annual report, Global Trends in Forced Displacement, noted that by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights abuses stood at a record 108 million people, up 19.1 million people from 2021, the biggest increase ever.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned of the imminent risk of forced eviction in the old city of Jerusalem. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 970 Palestinians, including 424 children, are at risk of forced eviction in East Jerusalem.

The International Committee for the Red Cross relocated nearly 300 children from the Mygoma orphanage in Khartoum to a safer location. There the United Nations Children’s Fund is providing support for the children’s medical care, feeding and other needs and is working with authorities to identify foster families.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ high-level pledging event on the Horn of Africa today raised $2.4 billion. The Secretary-General said action is urgently needed to prevent crises in the region — which are threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people — from turning into catastrophe.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that at least 573,000 children under the age of five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. UNICEF noted that the country is still grappling with the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy, with over 650,000 people internally displaced.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today issued a fact-finding report on Mali which concluded that there are strong indications that more than 500 people were killed in March 2022 by Malian troops and foreign military personnel in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of central Mali.

In Somalia, the United Nations and the Government have just unveiled a revamped multi-donor trust fund in support of the country’s development priorities. The Somalia Joint Fund will provide flexible funding to address key challenges facing the country and its people.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Edward Chaiban of Lebanon as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Deputy Executive Director, Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Fighting in Sudan continues to exact a heavy toll on civilians, and the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that many will die due to lack of essential services and disease outbreaks. Amidst critically low medical supplies and an increasing number of refugees, United Nations agencies are providing relief.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Kitty van der Heijden of the Netherlands as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). She will succeed Charlotte Petri Gornitzka of Sweden, to whom the Secretary-General and UNICEF are grateful for her dedicated service.