Fiji

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Dirk Wagener of Germany as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Fiji, with the host Government’s approval.

In Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving emergency food assistance by 25 per cent this month due to dwindling funding levels, ending support for 100,000 of the most vulnerable Haitians. WFP urgently needs $121 million to continue vital aid through 2023.

The new Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations, Filipo Tarakinikini, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

The Secretary-General expressed his shock and sadness today over the heinous mass shooting that took place at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, saying it is particularly heart-wrenching that most of the victims are children.  He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the entire community.

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.

United Nations personnel in Lebanon are responding to a fuel tank explosion in the northern district of Akkar, which killed 28 people and injured over 80 others on 15 August.  The incident comes as the country grapples with a deepening crisis and electricity shortages have forced hospitals to operate at reduced capacity.

Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks.  The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned today that a further escalation in violence is unfolding across Myanmar, saying there appear to be no efforts towards de-escalation, but rather a build-up of troops in key areas, contrary to commitments the military made to end the violence.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union have launched a programme to protect migrant children in Central America and Southern Africa.  It will work with Governments and civil society groups to provide care alternatives to immigration detention.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports it is providing supplies such as mosquito nets, solar lamps, and blankets for 36,000 people in Somalia’s Puntland region who have been affected by Cyclone Gati, the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the country, which made landfall in November.