Ethiopia

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.

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

A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveals that Governments and detaining authorities in at least 84 countries have released more than 45,000 children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Some 261,000 children in conflict with the law are still being held in detention worldwide.

Mahamat Annadif, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for West Africa, and Foreign Minister of Guinea, Morissanda Kouyaté, launched a new initiative to facilitate an inclusive transition in Guinea by fostering reconciliation at national and community levels and increasing participation of women and all communities.

Since Sunday night, at least 11,000 people fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have sought refuge in Uganda, the largest single-day influx in over one year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports.  It is requesting urgent resources to address the new arrivals’ needs.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries has risen from 42 to 45 million people, as acute hunger spikes around the world.  The agency said needs are vastly surpassing available resources at a time when traditional funding streams are overstretched.

Meeting today to discuss urgent action to de-escalate the potentially disastrous conflict in Ethiopia, speakers in the Security Council extended their support for the African Union’s regional peace initiative and urged the Ethiopian authorities and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and its allied forces to enter a ceasefire, allow for unhindered humanitarian access and engage dialogue towards a political solution.