The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is deeply concerned about the plight of hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia’s strife-torn Tigray region who have yet to receive life-saving assistance. The situation is particularly critical for newly displaced people and refugees.
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Noon Briefings
Despite a significant drop in violations against children since the 2018 peace agreement was signed in South Sudan, continuing grave violations are mostly attributed to opposition and Government troops, including the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, the latest report on children and armed conflict says.
In Afghanistan, the United Nations and humanitarian partners report that they will seek $1.3 billion this year to assist almost 16 million people with life-saving aid, up from 2.3 million people in 2017, as ongoing conflict, natural disasters, chronic poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to devastate the population.
Deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Uganda ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections on 14 January, the United Nations Human Rights Office calls on authorities there to protect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and take steps to prevent electoral violence.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index averaged 107.5 points in December 2020, 2.2 per cent higher than in November 2020, FAO said today. World food prices rose for the seventh consecutive month last month, an increase led by high demand for dairy products.
More than 100 people were killed and over 25 others injured following the 2 January attacks in Niger’s Tillaberi Region, according to local authorities. A United Nations inter-agency assessment mission arrived in the town of Ouallam yesterday, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed.
United Nations humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has allocated $1.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to the Food and Agriculture Organization for desert locust control operations in Kenya. Swarms could threaten livelihoods and food security of 3.6 million people across the region if they are not controlled.
Despite slightly improved humanitarian access into some areas of Tigray, the region remains critically challenged by the prevailing insecurity and bureaucratic constraints, United Nations humanitarian officials in Ethiopia report. Health facilities in major cities are working with limited supplies and without staff.
The World Food Programme today raised extreme concern that escalating violence and displacement in north Mozambique has led to more than 900,000 people facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. Plans are in place to reach 750,000 in the area, but $117 million is needed over the next year to meet needs.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that 250,000 children have been displaced by the crisis in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. UNICEF is concerned that safe water, sanitation and hygiene services are insufficient to meet the growing needs in overcrowded temporary accommodation centres and host communities.