United Nations peacekeeping officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to sound alarms over deadly attacks perpetrated by fighters — presumed to be with the militant coalition known as CODECO — against displaced civilians in Ituri Province. There are currently 1.7 million people displaced in Ituri.
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Noon Briefings
Responding to urgent and growing humanitarian needs in northern Ethiopia, almost 40 trucks with food and other relief supplies from the United Nations and aid partners departed Monday for Tigray, the first convoy since mid-October, and the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service resumed flights to Mekelle.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations peacekeeping mission reports that some 16,000 people fled to a camp located near its Temporary Operational Base, following deadly attack deadly attacks by the CODECO armed group in Drodro, Ituri province. The mission has reinforced security in the area.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), non-performing loans in Afghanistan’s credit market have increased from around 30 per cent at the end of 2020 to 57 per cent in September 2021. As the massive withdrawal of savings continues, UNDP projects that the deposits’ base could shrink by as much as 40 per cent by year-end.
Humanitarian personnel in Somalia, along with the Federal Government, have sounded alarm over worsening drought conditions. Some 2.3 million people — 18 per cent of the population — are severely affected by water, food and pasture shortages in a country that has experienced more than 30 climate-related hazards since 1990.
United Nations officials in Myanmar report worsening humanitarian conditions due to conflict, political instability and COVID-19 since the military seized control of the Government in February. More than 230,000 people have been displaced since then, with food running desperately short in some host communities.
In Belarus, an Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) team has been granted limited access to the Polish border, where it delivered aid with help from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agencies are advocating to move people to safer locations away from the border.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that 8.7 million people are at risk of facing famine-like conditions in Afghanistan, with an additional 14.1 million facing crisis levels of acute food insecurity. Conflict has displaced more than 600,000 people and the country is experiencing drought following a poor rainy season.
A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveals that Governments and detaining authorities in at least 84 countries have released more than 45,000 children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 261,000 children in conflict with the law are still being held in detention worldwide.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore voiced deep concern over reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise, with families offering daughters as young as 20 days old for future marriage in return for a dowry. Some 28 per cent of Afghan women aged 15–49 were married before 18.