Today, two inter-agency convoys, facilitated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, delivered medicine, emergency shelter kits, blankets, sleeping bags, hygiene kits and solar lamps to 5,000 residents in two towns in the southern Khersonska oblast that had been heavily impacted by fighting.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
In the Central African Republic, United Nations peacekeepers have concluded a joint mission with the Central African security forces to better protect people in the country’s west. Over a period of one month, peacekeepers conducted over 100 patrols and 30 aerial surveillance missions.
On 31 December 2022, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Maritime Task Force assisted the Lebanese Armed Forces-Navy with a search-and-rescue operation relating to a boat in distress off the northern coast, between Beirut and Tripoli.
The United Nations country team in South Africa is working with authorities to respond to the recent measles outbreak, including 245 confirmed cases, almost 75 per cent of them children under the age of nine. With funding from Germany and Japan, UNICEF is procuring equipment that will benefit approximately 2,000 health facilities.
In Colombia, the United Nations team has received over $17 million for the multi-donor fund aiding the country’s “Total Peace” initiative, securing 76 per cent of the Fund’s 2023 investment needs to support transitional justice, rural development, reintegration of ex-combatants and security.
The Elsie Initiative Fund for Women in Peace Operations announced today the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali will receive a nearly $1.5 million grant to build gender-sensitive camp facilities and thus facilitate greater deployment of women police from Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.
In Myanmar, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reports that the number of people living in poverty has doubled due to the effects of the pandemic and the military takeover — to nearly half of the population, that’s 25 million people.
In Afghanistan, the United Nations team there continues to support women since the Taliban takeover a year and a half ago. In 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) created and sustained nearly 1,700 jobs for women and trained almost 470 women on entrepreneurship and decent work practices.
In Sudan, where humanitarian needs are at a record high, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, today launched the 2023 appeal for $1.7 billion in aid. An estimated 15.8 million people, one third of the population, will need life-saving assistance next year, up 1.5 million from 2022.
Today, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs visited Kherson in Ukraine after the Government regained control. In the past month, humanitarian convoys have been bringing to Kherson water, food, medicines, blankets and other essential items, including generators to ensure hospitals and schools continue operating.