The Secretary-General visited the World Health Organization (WHO) crisis centre, praising the agency’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, urging countries to do their utmost to be prepared, and calling on donors to support WHO. “If there is truly something stupid to do, it is to not fully fund WHO appeals,” he said.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
About 6.5 million people in South Sudan – more than half the country’s population – could face acute food insecurity at the height of the May-to-July hunger season, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Today, a Commission convened by the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and The Lancet said that no single country is adequately protecting children’s health or their environment to ensure a healthy future, warning that climate change and processed food intake are set to reverse child health gains.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today said it is deeply saddened by reports of the deaths of at least 20 people during a stampede for food and cash in Niger’s Diffa region on Sunday. The number of victims could rise as more information is received.
The United Nations is alarmed by reports of an artillery shell explosion that injured up to 17 children at a school in Myanmar’s Rakhine State last Thursday. The incident is part of an escalation of hostilities between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military across much of Rakhine.
Kenya is experiencing its worst desert locust infestation in 70 years, with swarm activity and breeding also occurring in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. Left unchecked and with additional rains, it could grow 500-fold by June, with devastating impacts.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) says it will deploy 34 electoral advisers in Bangui and 16 prefectures to help the country as it prepares for presidential and legislative elections late this year and early 2021.
The United Nations Development Programme will tomorrow launch “Mission 1.5”, a climate change engagement campaign that will connect global citizens with Governments and policymakers. Built around an online video game on climate policy, it provides a platform for voting on solutions they wish to see happen.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it’s seeking $107 million to support life-saving humanitarian operations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. There are acute food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation needs, but funding for humanitarian operations there remain historically low.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will convene a global research and innovation forum in Geneva tomorrow to mobilize international action on coronavirus, the agency announced today. WHO has sent diagnostic kits to 14 countries and identified more than 160 laboratories with the technology to diagnose coronavirus.