The latest information we have received from the Government of the Philippines is that the number of people affected by Typhoon Haiyan stands at nearly 12 million, of whom 920,000 are displaced. The Government also reports that 4,460 people have died in the disaster.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos visited Tacloban in the Philippines today and saw the devastation left in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan; tens of thousands of people are in the open and in destroyed buildings, and medical facilities, food, clean water and sanitation are still widely unavailable.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, arrived in the Philippines today to see first-hand the massive destruction left in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. She said millions of families have had their lives torn apart and voiced concern that thousands of people who need help have not yet been able to receive assistance.
Speaking by telephone, the Secretary-General offered the Foreign Minister of the Philippines condolences for those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan, reaffirming the United Nations support and solidarity. Valeria Amos, Emergency Relief Coordinator, who is being dispatched to the Philippines, will join the Foreign Minister and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator to launch the Typhoon Haiyan Action Plan tomorrow.
The UN refugee agency says it has recorded more than 62,000 arrivals by sea this year in Yemen, from 1 January until 31 October. The agency remains concerned about the very high numbers of people risking their lives by making this perilous journey from the Horn of Africa.
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed that the Congolese army now has complete control over all areas previously controlled by the M23 rebel movement. It is now of utmost importance for the Government to establish its authority over the whole region and start its development.
The Secretary-General left Bamako for Niamey, Niger, today, along with the heads of the African Union Commission, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Union Commissioner for Development. He told lawmakers the United Nations was there to help Niger achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The Secretary-General was in Timbuktu, Mali, today, where he made a call for peace and reconciliation. Addressing a Ministerial Meeting on the Sahel, he underlined the leadership of the Governments there in solving the region's problems. He said the Sahel could and would go forward, but only if it was united.
Jamal Benomar, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Yemen, has helped broker an agreement to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to Dammaj — a town in the northern governorate of Sa’ada — in order to bring in medical and other supplies and evacuate the wounded.
The UN refugee agency said today that the Bay of Bengal’s annual sailing season — when thousands of desperate people flee Myanmar’s Rakhine State on rickety boats — may have begun. The agency said it has received reports that more than 1,500 people boarded boats last week and that people have drowned off the coast of Rakhine.