The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today released new data showing that while reported numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe are fewer than in 2015, journeys are becoming more fatal.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The World Investment Report 2022 was released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It shows that flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. But, the report warns that the prospects for 2022 are grimmer.
In Uganda, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund has just allocated $4 million to address the rising food insecurity in the Karamoja region, in the north-east of the country. Poor food production there has caused hunger to increase in the last two years.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called for urgent humanitarian action in 20 hunger hotspots, where food insecurity is likely to deteriorate in the next three months.
The Secretary-General condemned the attack in Mali which killed two peacekeepers and injured two others after their vehicle — an armoured personnel carrier — hit an improvised explosive device outside of the town of Douentza. Despite such challenging circumstances, United Nations personnel are continuing their mandated work.
United Nations humanitarian colleagues in Madagascar report that food and nutrition security has improved, saying that since January, 1.1 million people in the Grand Sud region have been reached with critical assistance following large-scale humanitarian assistance in 2021 and this year.
The first commercial flight flew out of Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport to Cairo, Egypt today. The flight is the seventh flight operating under the terms of the United Nations-brokered two-month nationwide truce and represents an important element of that truce.
Marking World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report highlighting the tobacco industry’s carbon footprint from production, processing and transporting tobacco, noting that it is equivalent to one fifth of the CO2 produced by the commercial airline industry each year.
In northern Ethiopia, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are continuing to provide assistance across Tigray, Afar and Amhara. Since the resumption of convoys at the beginning of April, 875 trucks have arrived in Tigray, carrying more than 32,800 tons of supplies, including food.
In Niger, the situation remains tense in the Tillaberi region along the border with Burkina Faso following several clashes. Since 1 May, 51 civilians have been killed. The United Nations and its partners are working to increase access to the affected border areas, with food security likely to worsen.