Ethiopia

The United Nations takes note of the recent decision by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, to resign, to “allow further political reforms to take place in the country aimed at widening democratic space”.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres departed New York on Thursday, 25 January, for Ethiopia.  During an hour-long layover in Lomé, Togo, he had a courtesy call with President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé at the airport. The Secretary-General arrived in Addis Ababa late on Friday, 26 January.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan to support the humanitarian needs of 940,000 people living in the country.  The Plan seeks $313 million in donor funding to implement 71 projects by 21 humanitarian organizations.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the parties to the Syrian conflict to allow badly needed food and medical supplies to get into Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus, where at least 350,000 civilians remain besieged.

In Ethiopia, the fifth round of food distributions has reached 330,000 of the targeted 3.3 million people in the Somali region, where successive failed rains have exacerbated the food insecurity crisis.  The ongoing distributions are expected to be completed by mid-September.

The cholera outbreak in Yemen has spread to all but 1 of its 22 governorates, with more than 480,000 suspected cases and nearly 2,000 associated deaths from diarrhoea-related diseases, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.  There are concerns the numbers could rise as Yemen heads into its rainy season.

In Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today that their funding — and food stocks — are quickly running out.  The country is struggling with the effects of devastating back-to-back droughts.  Some 7.8 million people need food assistance right now, and that number is expected to rise in the coming months after another failed rainy season.

A group of 36 Yazidi women, men and children have been rescued from slavery after being held for nearly three years by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh).  The women and girls are under care at dedicated United Nations Population Fund service points supported by the Government of the Netherlands.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) reports extensive damage in western Mosul, Iraq, with more than 1,000 homes destroyed.  Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande says the damage in western Mosul is already far greater than that in the east, even before the battle to retake the Old City begins.

The Secretary-General spoke today at the Security Council’s debate on conflicts in Europe, saying that such conflicts are not only a tragedy for those directly involved, but they are also reversing development gains and preventing communities and societies from achieving their potential and contributing to regional and global prosperity.