Democratic Republic of the Congo

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

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.

Ten years into Syria’s crisis, humanitarian needs are deepening, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says, with an estimated 13.4 million people requiring protection and assistance, up more than 2 million people from 2020.  Nearly 60 per cent of the population is food insecure.

In north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations vaccination teams are supporting the Ebola response by rehabilitating treatment centres and boosting contact-tracing capacity, and today began a four-day mission to Guinea to assess the situation in Nzérékoré, where the first Ebola case was reported.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today launched the Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative, with 15 leading airlines supporting the prioritization of the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and other critical supplies.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Khassim Diagne of Senegal as his Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports rising hunger and malnutrition in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where months of conflict have worsened a dire situation caused by COVID-19 and locusts.  Nearly 80 per cent of hospitals in Tigray are not functional, according to the World Health Organization.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says the number of people displaced by violence in Africa’s Sahel region has reached 2 million.  Officials warn that needs continue to surge, with multiple crises converging and the humanitarian response dangerously overstretched.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Bintou Keita of Guinea as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

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.