United Nations humanitarian officials in the Philippines report that the Government declared a national dengue epidemic yesterday. There have now been more than 146,000 reported cases of dengue fever and 622 confirmed fatalities since the beginning of 2019, mostly affecting children between 5 and 9 years old.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The United Nations welcomed the decision by the Government of Colombia to grant nationality to Venezuelan refugee children born in the country to Venezuelan parents. The measure will benefit more than 24,000 children born since August 2015 who were at risk of statelessness.
Aware of the Syrian Government’s announcement this morning on the resumption of military operations in the country’s northwest, the United Nations continues to call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times.
The Secretary-General takes note of the signing of a cessation-of-hostilities agreement by President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique and opposition leader Ossufo Momade of the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO), a step towards a signing a definitive peace agreement next week.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched a new website to identify laws and policies related to response efforts, featuring an interactive map with data from 140 nations and covering such areas as a country’s ability to diagnose HIV among babies and whether people are prosecuted for carrying condoms.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan today welcomed the reduction in civilian casualties over the 1 January-30 June period, but still views the harm done to civilians as shocking and unacceptable. The latest United Nations update, released today, documents 3,812 civilian casualties in the first half of 2019.
The United Nations Children’s Fund announced a partnership to build a first-of-its-kind factory to convert plastic waste in Côte d’Ivoire into modular plastic bricks, which will be used to build classrooms. Côte d’Ivoire needs 15,000 classrooms; 500 will be constructed through the partnership in the next two years.
Honduras has declared a national health emergency due to the prevalence of dengue, with 29,000 cases registered as of 25 July. So far, 54 people have died, mostly children. The United Nations is assisting authorities with medical supplies and equipment, door-to-door awareness campaigns and other support.
Two years after the 2016-2017 drought, poor rainfall between March and mid-May 2019 across the Horn of Africa is leading to increased food insecurity, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports, with nearly 13 million people severely food insecure in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.
Today, the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund released $19.5 million to assist 500,000 people in need of emergency food and other crucial support. Toby Lanzer, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, said it comes at a critical time as aid agencies are running out of funds.