Democratic Republic of the Congo

At least 11,000 people have fled their homes following an attack by insurgents on the town of Palma, Mozambique, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  Officials are working around the clock to provide assistance, including blankets and sleeping mats, but warn that hunger is rising.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Linda Thomas-Greenfield (United States):

There are not only challenges, but also opportunities in the run-up to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s nationwide elections in 2023, the Secretary‑General’s new Special Representative in that country said today, as she urged the Security Council and the international community to act as one to help restore peace and stability there and to overcome the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

In Zimbabwe, 2.4 million people are struggling to meet their basic food needs due to the impact of COVID-19, the World Food Programme reports.  It is delivering monthly cash transfers to 326,000 people across 32 urban areas, and aims to reach 550,000 people in the 28 worst-affected, food-insecure urban areas in the country.

At least 14 civilians were killed in an attack by suspected combatants of the ADF on Sunday night in Bulongo village, east of Beni, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported.  The Mission’s Force Intervention Brigade deployed to the area yesterday.

Cabo Verde has received 24,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the global COVAX facility – the first of 100,000 doses expected by May – according to United Nations staff in the country, who called the shipment a source of hope and a testimony to global solidarity.

Schools for more than 168 million children around the world have been closed for an entire year due to lockdowns, a report from UNICEF says, noting that around 214 million children globally, or one in seven, have missed more than three quarters of their in-person learning.  The most vulnerable may never return, it warns.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration today began preparing asylum seekers in the Matamoros camp for entry to the United States as the country ends a policy that forced some 25,000 people to wait in Mexico for their immigration hearings.

The number of civilians killed and injured in Afghanistan rose following the start of peace negotiations in September, according to report released today by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Organization’s human rights office.  The country remains among the deadliest for civilians.

Cabo Verde is among the first African countries to receive the first allocation of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX facility, the United Nations team there reports. In the next few weeks, thanks to additional World Bank funding of $5 million, Cabo Verde will be able to buy vaccines for almost 35 per cent of the population.