#COVID-19

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for Africa Day, observed on 25 May:

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Gomas has caused 13 deaths and destroyed the homes of 5,000 people, humanitarian colleagues report.  The United Nations is assisting with water, shelter, health and family reunification, and peacekeepers are set to clear the main roads into Goma.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Global Health Summit, held online today:

The World Health Organization today said that more than 1.2 million people urgently need health assistance in Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique, where recent armed attacks sparked further population displacement and deepened a protracted humanitarian crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a stress test for the repositioned United Nations development system, which rose to the challenge and has made the most of the Organization’s assets to help countries worldwide emerge stronger from the crisis, senior officials of the Economic and Social Council said today, as it concluded a three-day annual segment on operational activities for development.

Aid workers in Ethiopia report rising incidents of denial of relief cargo, and the confiscation of humanitarian vehicles and supplies, by parties to the conflict in the Tigray region.  While over 5 million people are targeted for food assistance, only about 1.8 million have been reached since late March amid limited access.

Despite having suffered some of the COVID-19 pandemic’s worst socioeconomic impacts — including inflated debt burdens, job losses and worsening conflicts — Africa has to date received just 2 per cent of vaccine doses produced globally, the Security Council heard today, as it convened a high-level virtual debate on addressing the root causes of conflict in the continent’s post-COVID-19 recovery process.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Niger’s western Tillabery region, 10,000 people have fled their homes since 14 May, following attacks by non-State armed groups in the Anzourou district, near the border with Mali.  The number of internally displaced persons in Tillabery has nearly doubled in 18 months to 102,000.

Five years after the 2017 influx into Bangladesh of Rohingya refugees, food security in Cox’s Bazar remains a top priority, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.  A joint response plan calls for $943 million to help the refugees and their host communities; 25 per cent of the funds will go to fight hunger and malnutrition.

The United Nations development system is better positioned thanks to recent reforms but more can and must be done to improve its effectiveness at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out a decade of achievements in some countries, delegates told the Economic and Social Council today at the opening of its three-day segment on operational activities for development.