Food

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on World Food Day, observed 16 October:

In Haiti, half of the country’s population, 5.4 million people face acute hunger, according to new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Two million are in the grips of emergency levels of hunger and at least 6,000 displaced people face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

The Special Coordinator for Lebanon is in Israel where she is meeting with Israeli authorities to discuss the latest situation and the Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission is in contact with both Lebanese and Israeli parties, stressing the urgent need for de-escalation. Efforts are ongoing to reduce tensions and halt shelling.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today issued its latest report on Myanmar, detailing a range of serious human rights violations that continue to underscore the deepening crisis and lack of rule of law throughout the country.

On the situation in Venezuela, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) highlighted the urgent need for increased support for over 4 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the Americas.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the high-level presidential summit of the 2024 Africa Food Systems Forum, in Kigali today:

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports that the significant rise in the water levels of the Nile has heightened the need for preparedness there, especially in high-risk communities near rivers or swampland.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) appealed today for $18.5 million to provide crucial healthcare services to migrants, internally displaced people, and host communities at risk of Mpox in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the southern part of the continent.

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

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the launch of the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in All its Forms, in Rio de Janeiro today: