In tsunami-hit Tonga, the United Nations continues to support the recovery, providing satellite phones for Government staff to communicate while the underground communications cable undergoes repairs. On Tongatapu, the main island, 90 per cent of power has been restored and aid distribution continues.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
On Myanmar, nearly one year after the takeover, the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the international community to intensify pressure on the military to stop its campaign of violence against the people of the country and to insist on the prompt restoration of civilian rule.
At a meeting today on the Sahel region, the Emergency Relief Coordinator for the United Nations said that nearly 15 million people in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will need humanitarian assistance in 2022. This is 4 million more than one year ago.
Briefing the Security Council today on Afghanistan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative there noted that, six months after the takeover by the Taliban, the country is hanging by a thread.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned today that the deteriorating drought conditions in Somalia could displace more than 1 million people by April if urgent action is not taken now. IOM noted that water scarcity in some parts of the country is the worst in 40 years.
United Nations international experts arrived today in Peru to carry out a rapid assessment of the social and environmental impacts of an oil spill disaster. The team started working today and expects to continue for two weeks.
In Ethiopia, the United Nations and humanitarian partners have been forced to reduce aid distribution in Tigray as fuel supplies are blocked from entering the area. Last week, food aid reached only 10,500 of the 800,000 people in need. The humanitarian response is being scaled up in accessible areas in Amhara and Afar.
In Tonga, following the volcanic eruption, humanitarian colleagues report that over 80 per cent of the population have been impacted by the disaster, with three confirmed fatalities to date. Relief efforts are scaling up, including by the United Nations Children’s Fund, but it is difficult to reach remote areas.
Briefing the Security Council today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the situation that now faces women human rights defenders, and prospects for women’s full participation in shaping and building peace, are vastly worse than they were before the pandemic got under way.
After a volcanic eruption and tsunami caused significant infrastructure damage in Tonga, the World Food Programme said it is exploring ways to bring in aid and the United Nations Children’s Fund is ready to send emergency water, sanitation and other supplies from warehouses in Fiji and Brisbane.