The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that a major health campaign is under way in the Lake Chad Basin area to vaccinate over 41 million children against polio, which re-emerged after two years with no recorded cases.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is extremely concerned by reports of horrific violence against civilians in Yei, Central Equatoria. The Mission calls on the authorities to grant it and humanitarian partners immediate, unfettered access to the area and on all parties to cease hostilities.
The Secretary-General said the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos this morning provides needed hope to the Colombian people. He encouraged the parties to the 29 August ceasefire agreement to conduct a pragmatic dialogue and pledged the United Nations support for the peace process.
The United Nations Disaster Assessment Coordination team and the Government of Haiti hope to conduct a joint assessment with other humanitarian partners today after Hurricane Matthew left widespread destruction, flooding and at least 350,000 people in need of immediate assistance in the southern part of the country.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has reported that tensions persisted in Bangui following intercommunal clashes yesterday that killed at least six people and wounded 14. Peacekeeper patrols have intensified in sensitive areas of the city.
The Secretary-General spoke to the European Parliament in Strasbourg this morning as it approved fast-track legislation for the Paris Agreement on climate change. He is grateful for the European Union’s support and leadership for the accord.
A United Nations disaster assessment and coordination team has arrived in Haiti to monitor hurricane Matthew, and pre-positioning of relief supplies and emergency resources has begun. The Category 4 hurricane is expected to affect 20 per cent of the population – some 2 million people.
UNHCR today expressed concern that restrictions on the movement of people in eastern Ukraine have led to increased hardships and limited the access of thousands to heath care and social payments. The agency called on authorities to ease the plight of 26,000 people crossing the dividing line in eastern Ukraine.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today that the last seven days had seen an intensification of attacks across Syria. He said that nowhere had the fighting been more intense than in besieged east Aleppo, where estimates are that more than 320 civilians were killed and 765 injured in the first days.
For the first time since 2014, the World Food Programme has distributed urgently needed food for people in and around Shirqat, Iraq, who had been living under siege and cut off from humanitarian aid. Through local partner Muslim Aid, it distributed a one-month supply of food to families.