The onset of winter — compounded by the devastating effects of the coronavirus — poses a direct threat to the health and livelihoods of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, nearly 2 million of whom have settled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.
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Democratic Republic of Congo authorities noted the end of the lava flow from the eruption of Nyiragongo, as well as a significant decrease in tremors in the area. Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge announced yesterday that people could return to Goma and the territory around the volcano.
More than 271,000 people have been impacted and over 26,000 displaced by monsoon-related flash floods and landslides in south-western Sri Lanka, humanitarian affairs officials say. The impacts of the south-west monsoon come as Sri Lanka works to mitigate the environmental impact of a sinking cargo ship near Colombo.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it continues to receive reports of systematic forced return of Mozambican families from the United Republic of Tanzania. The Agency urged Mozambique’s neighbours to respect access to asylum for those fleeing widespread armed conflict in the northern part of the country.
The Federal Government of Somalia, in consultation with the United Nations, declared a drought on 25 April, with moderate to severe drought conditions impacting 80 per cent of the country. Seasonal rains then began in late April and early May, triggering flash flooding that impacted 400,000 people, of whom 101,300 were displaced.
UNICEF announced today it has signed a long-term agreement with Moderna to supply vaccine for the COVAX facility. Through the agreement, the agency and its partners will have access to up to 34 million doses for some 92 countries and territories in 2021. This is the fifth vaccine-supply agreement it has signed.
The United Nations and the Government of Timor-Leste have launched a $32 million joint appeal to provide food, shelter, water and sanitation to some 65,000 people impacted by flooding in April. Nearly 34,000 homes were destroyed amid a strict COVID-19 lockdown in the capital, Dili, which has seen a surge in cases.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is calling for more international support for the people of Afghanistan amid continued violence that has internally displaced over 100,000 people so far this year. UNHCR’s $123.5 million humanitarian appeal for 2021 is only 24 per cent funded.
United Nations staff in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are closely monitoring developments in Goma, where state authorities decided on 26 May to evacuate 10 districts on the heels of the Nyiragongo Volcano eruption. Tens of thousands are leaving the area amid an already challenging humanitarian situation.
Despite a decline in the numbers of migrants arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean route in recent years, hundreds — including at least 632 so far in 2021 — continue to die, finds a new report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, which cites risks created by policy decisions.