Cyprus

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today it has been laying the groundwork for the rapid, safe and efficient delivery of the eventual COVID-19 vaccine by stockpiling syringes and other necessary equipment, in anticipation of delivering 1 billion syringes to support vaccination efforts in 2021.

The Nobel Committee has awarded this year’s Peace Prize to the United Nation World Food Programme (WFP).  The Secretary-General congratulates David Beasley, WFP’s Executive Director, as well as the agency’s entire staff.  The Programme is on the frontlines of food insecurity, serving the most vulnerable of the world.

Expressing concern over Turkey’s recently announced plan to open the coastline of Varosha, a city on the eastern edge of Cyprus, the Security Council called today for a reversal of that decision and for the parties to avoid any unilateral action that could raise tensions on the island.

The World Food Programme in South Sudan strongly condemned an attack on its boat convoy near Shambe carrying food assistance intended for people displaced after losing their homes and crops to floods.  One of the 13-person crew is missing and presumed killed, and three others are suffering from gunshot wounds.

In Zimbabwe, where 60 per cent of the population is projected to be food insecure by the end of 2020, the World Food Programme appealed for $250 million to prevent a human catastrophe.  A nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has led to joblessness in urban areas, growing hunger in rural areas and hyperinflation that has made basic goods unaffordable.

Acting unanimously today, the Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus and called on the leaders of the two Cypriot communities to urgently work towards convergence on core issues.

United Nations teams in Brazil, Colombia and Peru issued a joint statement calling for increased COVID-19 pandemic-related support and response efforts in the Amazon region.  The pandemic is impacting hundreds of thousands of indigenous people, including 170,000 people living in remote areas along the Amazon River.

Officials at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) say locust swarms linked to climate change remain a serious threat to food security in parts of East Africa, India and Pakistan.  United Nations agencies are helping affected areas by providing data on weather, climate and the desert locust life cycle. 

Today on International Nurses Day, the World Health Organization remind us that as the world struggles to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic there is an urgent shortage of nurses worldwide. Almost 6 million more are needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Acting unanimously today, the Security Council decided to extend the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Cyprus, while calling for the establishment of a mechanism for direct military contacts between the sides and relevant parties.