Djibouti

Exceptional and prolonged heat in Siberia has fuelled devastating Arctic fires, the World Meteorological Organization said today, noting that temperatures in Siberia again topped 30°C this week.  The heat will influence weather and climate in lower latitudes, where hundreds of millions of people live, it warned.

The Secretary-General said he is deeply disturbed by the scale, severity and recurrence of grave violations endured by boys and girls, in a new report on the impact of conflict on children in Afghanistan.  More than 12,000 children were verified killed or maimed between 2015 and the end of 2018.

Vulnerable migrants are still being taken to the Tajoura detention centre despite persistent calls for its closure due to its proximity [to] a military location, and just three months after an air strike killed 53 people and injured more than 130, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today.

Following a sea tragedy on Tuesday off Djibouti’s Red Sea coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 16 survivors have been recovered, as well as the remains of 43 victims.  IOM staff have been helping the Djibouti authorities patrolling the shorelines in search of other survivors.

An estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 15 died in 2017, mostly of preventable causes, according to new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The World Health Organization and partners are supporting the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in preparing to vaccinate high‑risk populations against Ebola.  Health workers operating in affected areas are being vaccinated today and community outreach has started to prepare for the ring vaccination.

Today in Geneva, the 2018-2019 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan concerning Syria was launched - an interagency, $4.4 billion plan designed to support over five million refugees from Syria and the vulnerable communities hosting them in the neighbouring countries of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey.