Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy for Yemen, told the Security Council this morning his is deeply alarmed by the ongoing military escalating, intensified fighting and shifting frontlines in Yemen, which are endangering civilians. Aid operations in the country are helping almost 11 million people each month.
In progress at UNHQ
Ethiopia
The United Nations Population Fund launched a $835 million appeal to reach 54 million women, girls and young people in 61 countries in 2022 — the agency’s largest ever humanitarian appeal — seeking integrated sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services, as well as comprehensive support for survivors of violence.
The International Organization for Migration and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the today launched a $1.79 billion plan to help Venezuelan refugees and migrants and their host communities in 17 Latin American and Caribbean nations. The number of Venezuelan refugees has surpassed 6 million.
In Afghanistan, United Nations humanitarian colleagues report that aid and support continues to be distributed across several provinces, with more than 33,600 people receiving cash as winterization support and more than 27,000 people receiving food assistance under the World Food Programme.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict urged Ethiopia to promptly sign an agreement with the United Nations to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence. She noted that extreme brutality is a hallmark of the ongoing conflict in the country’s Tigray region.
International Labour Organization (ILO) officials in Myanmar called on employers to help prevent workplace violence and harassment. The organization has received increased reports of such incidents, particularly among women and vulnerable groups, since the military takeover in February and amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osnat Lubrani, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, today launched the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan seeking $190 million in education, food, shelter, water and other aid to alleviate the suffering of 2.9 million conflict-weary people in the eastern part of the country.
Responding to urgent and growing humanitarian needs in northern Ethiopia, almost 40 trucks with food and other relief supplies from the United Nations and aid partners departed Monday for Tigray, the first convoy since mid-October, and the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service resumed flights to Mekelle.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations peacekeeping mission reports that some 16,000 people fled to a camp located near its Temporary Operational Base, following deadly attack deadly attacks by the CODECO armed group in Drodro, Ituri province. The mission has reinforced security in the area.
In Belarus, an Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) team has been granted limited access to the Polish border, where it delivered aid with help from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agencies are advocating to move people to safer locations away from the border.